Elizabeth Woolf’s ‘Til It’s Dark Outside’ is a Coming-Of-Age Soul-Funk Masterpiece

Reintroducing the late ‘70s into the 21st century. ‘Til It’s Dark Outside,’ independently released on October 16, 2020, is the story-based debut studio album from Elizabeth Woolf, a budding Los Angeles, California grown singer-songwriter. Wise beyond her years and at the peak of her songstress game, Woolf grew up singing along to early Frank Sinatra records in the backseat of her mother’s gray minivan. She has since found her voice with those high belted notes while tracing back childhood. Sara Bareilles and Bon Iver are heard on the radio from a sobbing driver’s seat section of her father’s hand me down vehicle. However, fusing these influences into a sound of her own wasn’t until she attended University of California, Berkeley, where she became close friends with musical artist Lorenzo Loera (of The California Honeydrops), who introduced her to the album, “Songs In The Keys Of Life.”

“We would all jam together,” says Woolf, “and Lolo would send me lots of music recommendations - mostly Stevie Wonder. Stevie’s music is so inventive and fun! It inspired me to start singing at the Thursday night “Funk Night” jam at a local bar in Oakland.”

Like the ‘70s, where we saw the rise of smooth and sultry to downright funky. All your favorite disco, funk, smooth jazz, jazz fusion, and soul music made popular throughout that decade. Woolf, arguably this generation’s Nicolette Larson continues to build a sound that felt familiar, a nostalgic chapter in recreating a coming of age story, where a string of songs surrounded change, love, heartbreak, adventure, and the fumblings of your early twenties.

Showcasing a sweet, honey like vocal offering, gentle and pleasant, yet moody and melancholic, the titled debut record single, ‘Til It’s Dark Outside’ resonates with the memory of growing up in the sweetest time to be alive, an innocent era that transitioned between childhood and adulthood.

“It was a special moment of togetherness for my friends and I” she expresses, “and a memory I cherish. I decided to write lyrics for the rest of the song, and tell the story of my friendship with Harry, as we navigate the ups and downs of our emerging adulthood. In essence, is what the record feels like to me.”

‘Valencia Street,’ a city where “the very best kisses are the last of their kind.” That piece of lyric couldn’t be more true as we’ve all been there. This playfully quaint groove emits a smooth jazzy, folklike luring feel. The uniquely charming and honest storytelling is all about exploring a personal reflection seeking closure in the aftermath from a messy, past relationship. Woolf admits, “I was feeling lost and confused. Suddenly, I found myself walking familiar streets in San Francisco, as if it were a time machine. I saw memories flash before my eyes of wonderful romantic moments shared, paired with the bittersweet reality that those moments would never happen again.”

If there’s an urgency to say ‘Goodbye Old Friend’ (as the title depicts of Woolf’s experience in London), then letting go of a friendship that’s no longer aiding in mutual growth is only best to leave behind those and move forward in becoming who we are meant to be and letting go of who we once were.

Til It’s Dark Outside has sprung out to be a stunning, thoughtfully crafted masterpiece of a debuting wholesome wildflower; an ode to repressed memories, deliverance, growing up, and figuring things out in the company of good friendships and cherished memories. Singing along to the musical horn lines with a giddying smile, Elizabeth Woolf made us feel soothed, welcomed, and comforted. Even when we didn’t realize we needed comforting.