Michelle Branch is probably not the first music star you'd think of as a risk-taker. The young singer-songwriter has released two albums of catchy guitar pop with lyrics about heartbreak, love and loneliness. Although she distinguishes herself from the likes of Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson by using live instruments and writing her own songs, and from the likes of Avril Lavigne and Ashlee Simpson by having a general idea of what rock 'n' roll is, she's hardly someone you'd call groundbreaking. And while her most recent album, 2003's Hotel Paper, didn't sell as well as her debut, she doesn't seem like someone in need of a radical career makeover.
That's obviously what her record company, Maverick, thought, too, but Branch decided to buck conventional wisdom and forego a new solo album for now to team up with longtime friend Jessica Harp and form the Wreckers, a duo whose music is not so far removed from Branch's, but is "definitely a little more singer-songwriter, a little more organic and has a country vibe to it," according to Branch.
She and Harp also are out on the road now, headlining the One Tree Hill tour (the Vegas stop will feature Gavin DeGraw as co-headliner), and though their album won't be released until summer, Branch promises the live set will consist solely of Wreckers tunes and not any of her own hits. Not that she's naïve; she realizes it may be an uphill battle to fight off expectations. "I like going to shows and just sitting and watching music," she says, "but a lot of people are more impatient than that, and like to know the songs you're playing, so we'll see what happens."
Branch admits she may play one of her own songs if time permits, because she can already envision ticked-off fans demanding it. "I'm just worried that we're going to get to a show and people are going to be like, 'Play "Are You Happy Now,"'" she says, referring to the first single from Hotel Paper. It's certainly a risk, then, for Branch to head in this new direction, and to team up with the untested Harp rather than another established star. The two met five years ago when both were struggling singer-songwriters pushing independent releases, and connected via the Internet. Branch invited Harp to tour with her as a backup singer, and convinced her to hold off on signing her own record deal so the Wreckers could record.
It wasn't a move that Maverick was particularly happy about, but she's used the Wreckers project as an excuse to experiment with things she's always wanted to do, and has every intention of returning to her own music (and letting Harp sign that record deal). She's careful not to make too much of the project. "We're just going to do one record and then I'm back to making my own records," she promises. "If it's successful, we'll have to take it from there and just think about it. But what's the worst that could happen?" Likewise, describing the shift to a more countrified sound, Branch uses every qualifier in the book to avoid alienating fans. "It could lean on the fence of almost being country sometimes, for the average listener," she meekly says.
In a world of carefully image-managed stars, Branch is still remarkably independent. At 21, she's married, has a baby on the way, and unlike many who became famous while still in their teens, isn't pining away for a lost childhood. On a tour of college campuses last year, she felt no regret about jumping right into the adult world. "I feel like college is a good place for people who really don't know what they're going to do, to kind of buy a few extra years before they have to step in the real world," she says.
It's clear she's felt ready for that step for quite some time now, and is about to further forge her own path.