All posts by Megan

Album Review: Jade Bird (self-titled)

Rating: 10/10

For lovers of the folk rock side of Americana, passionate and thought-provoking songwriting, and/or rich, unique vocal quality, meet Jade Bird, a 21-year-old singer-songwriter from the UK who has just released the best album of the year so far. Continuing the excellent trend led by Charles Wesley Godwin and Emily Scott Robinson, Jade Bird has released an incredible debut, showcasing nothing but promise for her future and hopefully introducing many more years of strong output.

Sonically, this album can be a little difficult to pin down. It’s not quite country, for the traditionalists out there, but it fits squarely in Americana and features some acoustic songs and piano ballads that most closely resemble folk, country’s introspective cousin. But it doesn’t fall into the trap of sleepy, introverted Americana either; Jade balances the softer stuff well with edgier rock songs and an angst reminiscent of Alanis Morissette on Jagged Little Pill.

Vocal ability is always welcome in folk and Americana, and Jade Bird delivers this in spades. There’s a little of the aforementioned Morissette in her voice, and perhaps some Amanda Shires, particularly as Shires sounded on her latest incredible record. But Bird’s uniqueness sets her apart from these artists and really from everyone, and she also shows an awareness of her strengths, the care and ability to write songs that best showcase her incredible voice. There’s a little rasp in her voice that only increases as she reaches for higher notes, and she writes to take full advantage of this. It’s almost as if ‘Lottery” were written especially to test the limits of her vocal power, and she passes the test beautifully. Few vocalists can sing a sustained chorus at the very reaches of their range like this, but even fewer can sing the same chorus with measured intensity and yet still keep the same grit, as Jade manages to do on the last, quieter chorus of this song.

Lyrically, this album is fascinating. Most of this focuses on the dual personalities of relationships, the endless cycle between happiness and heartbreak, and the way the two can exist almost simultaneously. “One minute I love you, and the next it’s all in ruins,” she sings on the opener, aptly titled “Ruins.” Bird says she almost named this album after the song “Love Has All Been done Before,” and it would have been perfect because that track sums everything up; it’s the jaded feeling of not even wanting to start a new relationship and be in love because the inevitable end is already in sight. “17,” a beautiful piano ballad that shows Bird restraining her voice to deliver something heartfelt and sad, also takes this approach; she pushes her partner away because she’s afraid he’ll “just get up and leave,” and her heart won’t be able to take it. And “My Motto” sees her literally repeating to herself not to trust and let people in because it can only lead to pain and heartache.

Sometimes this jaded view of love comes out in anger and frustration rather than in hurt. “Uh Huh” and “Good at It” are placed back to back in order to best display this side of heartache. in “Uh Huh,” Bird is telling her ex that his new love is playing him the same way he played her, and her grim satisfaction gives us a glimpse of that Morissette angst. “Good at It” takes the opposite approach, as she’s resentful of the new lover, whom she sarcastically calls a “goddess,” bitterly demanding if this woman is “good at it” because that has to be the reason her ex won’t call her anymore. Bird described this to Apple Music as the feeling that you gave everything to the relationship and the worry that it must be something in the bedroom which is driving him to someone else. That insecurity is taken out in this song as pure anger, and credit again to Bird for writing this in the right key in order for her vocals to be especially intense and outraged.

But it’s not all so jaded and bitter. In fact, two of the album’s strongest moments come when Jade is simply having fun. “Side Effects” is the moment where she gives in for awhile to being in love and feeling free, and the driving guitars really add to this song about running away together. There’s an almost 80’s rock flavor to this which would be great to see Bird exploring more on future projects. The other fun moment is again dripping with angst and sarcasm, but “Going Gone” is very obviously delivered with humor, and you can just tell Jade is having the time of her life singing it. This one is about her drunken boyfriend who talks a lot of shit about himself in the pubs but in the end still lives with his mom and doesn’t own a car. This one has instant replay value. Another impressive note; Jade wrote this song when she was only fourteen years old.

The album closer departs from this theme of love and heartbreak, but perhaps the most impressive song on a record full of impressive songs is “If I Die.” This one features simply a piano and Jade’s vocals, and it’s a song to her mother, to give her strength if Bird should pass away. It’s filled with emotion and perfect for her voice, an outstanding way to end the album.

This is an incredible, fascinating record, and it’s almost unbelievable that it’s her debut full-length album. On a site called Country exclusive, this album probably won’t be for everyone, leaning more to the folk rock-Americana end of the spectrum. But it’s excellently written, with thoughtful songwriting wrapped in accessible hooks and melodies, and delivered with exceptional vocal ability and passion. It’s simply an album for fans of good music. Hopefully, this is just the beginning, and we’ll be talking about Jade Bird for years to come.

Buy the Album

Collaborative Album Review: Molly Tuttle–When You’re Ready

Rating: 7/10

I collaborated with The Musical Divide on the debut album from Molly Tuttle, a gifted bluegrass instrumentalist who has released a record blending those influences with folk pop and Americana to create something unique and promising. Check out the full review here!

Collaborative Album Review: Molly Tuttle – When You’re Ready

Single Review: Blake Shelton’s “God’s Country”

Rating: 7.5/10

Blake Shelton’s output prior to his stint on The Voice represents some of the best modern mainstream country music in the genre. In recent years, that output has gone steadily downhill until he hit a new low with Texoma Shore. Some will point to that last album as a turning point for Blake, as an organic return to his roots that finally saw him trying to move back toward tradition and substance–and it’s certainly true that there were more country sounds on that record than what you’d find on many mainstream projects these days. But Texoma Shore also represented a lyrical low for Shelton, and for this listener, it became the first Blake Shelton album not to have at least one or two great moments; even if those great moments had become harder to find lately, there were still always a few on any Shelton release, but Texoma Shore could not boast this saving grace.

So now we have the first taste of an upcoming album in the form of “God’s Country,” and this really does seem to be Blake Shelton returning, at least in part, to his roots. Staunch traditionalists will probably find a lot to hate about this song, with its electronic drums and hand-claps, or with the lyrics about small-town life that have become so clichéd in recent years, but this is a solid mainstream country single and a welcome move in the right direction for Shelton.

It’s true that the lyrics remain the weak point of the song, for songs glorifying the country way of life are so plentiful in the mainstream right now. But the concept is certainly not a bad one in and of itself, and Blake Shelton sings this with an impassioned, heartfelt delivery that makes this different from so many similar songs. You believe what he’s singing; this is not a pandering list of country qualifiers but rather real pride being expressed by someone who has lived this way of life. It doesn’t feel mocking or patronizing, even if the lyrics themselves don’t offer anything truly original.

The production is the thing that really sells this, though. Yes, we have electronic drums, and real ones would have gone a long way toward getting more traditional fans to listen to this, but the rhythm and the dark, heavy production really set the tone for this well. It’s not bright and happy like a lot of mainstream material; rather, the song is built around minor chords and a moody atmosphere. It also reaches the very limits of Blake’s vocal range in the chorus, not stretching him too thin but sustaining an intensity that matches the mood. In fact, the aforementioned hand-claps and beats are probably the only thing that makes this track sound mainstream at all, and these will be the things that keep contemporary country fans interested.

Nothing earth-shattering lyrically, but a great vocal performance and interesting, dark production make this song stand out. A good balance between the traditional and modern, and a promising sign for Shelton’s upcoming album.

Written by: Devin Dawson, Hardy, Jordan schmidt

Album Review: Reba McEntire–Stronger Than the Truth

Rating: 7.5/10

As was discussed in my recent collaboration with The Musical Divide on the importance of continuing to cover and discuss mainstream artists, country music finds itself in an identity crisis in 2019. Bro country has long since died, and now the genre is seeking to reclaim its core fans. We’ve seen Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton release recent quality, country-sounding singles to radio. We’ve witnessed the meteoric rise of Luke Combs as listeners gravitate toward his authenticity and relatability. And we’ve watched George Strait come out of nowhere to suddenly regain airplay with “Every Little Honky Tonk Bar.”

Somewhere along the way, as we lost the substance and sounds of country music, we also lost the female perspective. Women became “girls” who rode shotgun in trucks and sipped drinks in clubs. NO one wanted to hear from a woman because it seemed they had nothing of value to say. The career resurgence of Reba McEntire is an embracing of both substantive and traditional country music, as well as an acknowledgement that forsaking the perspective of women might not have been such a sensible idea after all.

As I said of George Strait, a new Reba album is never a bad idea and always promises to deliver in both sound and quality. Stronger Than the Truth is not some forward-thinking opus that will blow the minds of all its listeners, but it’s a welcome return for Reba McEntire that shows her embracing her roots proudly.

First of all, can we please get an entire Western swing record from Reba? The opener, “Swing All Night Long With You,” fits her like a glove and remains one of the strongest tracks on the whole thing. It’s so infectious, with its cheerful piano and lively fiddles and guitar licks. “NO U in Oklahoma” is also a standout with its fun, upbeat production and catchy melodies. Reba brings a personality to both these songs that is frankly unmatched on the rest of the record. It would be great to see her explore this for a whole album; we often see country artists record a bluegrass album or a gospel project later in their careers–as McEntire herself did recently–and for Reba, a Western swing album would be perfect. She has a great voice for it and an obvious passion for the discipline.

Most of the album isn’t nearly as lighthearted as these two selections, however. Much of the material deals with heartbreak and pain, exploring the emotions so often associated with country music yet also so often ignored in recent years by mainstream performers. “The Bar’s Getting Lower” is an almost brutal slice of honesty, as the narrator contemplates having a one-night stand with the man she’s just met in the bar because she’s getting older and lonelier, feeling that she might never settle down and make her mother proud. It’s a song that will be relatable to so many, to the ones who have directly felt this desperation and to the ones who live in fear of one day becoming this woman. “Cactus in a Coffee Can” is a nice story song and one that will probably be universally liked, telling the tale of a woman who sits next to McEntire on a plane, pouring out her life story of a mother who abandoned her on the day the girl was born and struggled with addiction until the day she died. The title track remains one of the highlights as well, simple in its execution but timeless in its message as the main character tries to cope with the soul-crushing knowledge that her husband has betrayed her.

There is a lull in the heart of the album where a moment of energy would have helped to lighten the mood. “Storm in a Shot Glass,” one of the album’s most catchy selections, could have been sequenced differently to better break up the otherwise mid-tempo, depressing stretch from tracks 2 through 7. It’s also here that we find some songs which are told better by others elsewhere on the album; for example, “The clown” is essentially Part 2 of “Stronger Than the Truth” and doesn’t tell the story nearly as well as that song. It also feels like the piano drags on forever, which admittedly goes with the repeated line “the piano kept playing” to illustrate that life goes on all around us even when our hearts have just been broken, but the whole thing just feels a bit overwrought. “Your Heart” is also pretty forgettable and seems to be advising women to lead men on; this was probably not the actual intention, but the song is framed that way. Trimming a couple of these songs, sequencing them a little better, or even adding another upbeat moment here would have really gone a long way toward keeping the album from dragging and becoming too depressing.

Overall, though, this is a nice, solid slice of country music and a welcome return for one of the genre’s best. The strongest songs are near the front and back of the record, and there’s some filler in the middle, but there are some truly excellent tracks here. The Western swing numbers have instant replay value, and “The Bar’s getting Lower” is one of the best songs of the year so far. The songwriting is strong throughout most of the record, the production is interesting, the music is country, and Reba sounds great vocally. Another solid album from Music Row, another encouraging sign for the genre as a whole, and another quality offering from Reba McEntire.

Buy the Album

Album Review: George Strait–Honky Tonk Time Machine

Rating: 7/10

Just as a steaming bowl of soup has an understood and unparalleled power to heal and comfort us when we’re sick, a George strait release is a cure for what ails country music, a moment of relief and comfort in these troubled times. When you hear that a new Strait album is on the way, you don’t get worried, as is the case with so many mainstream artists, that he’ll sell out or start chasing trends or take a last stab at radio relevancy with some embarrassing, ill-advised single in lieu of aging gracefully and making the music he wants to make. You don’t worry that he’ll compromise his sound or his principles for cash because he doesn’t need to. He doesn’t need to court radio and younger audiences either; he’s built up a fan base too strong for him to care about any of that. In fact, the only real concern with an artist like strait is complacency, especially after such a long career. But King George hasn’t been complacent at all; he’s continued to select great songs and has also written more and more of his own material in recent years, churning out album after album of substantive songs and showing no signs of slowing down. Honky Tonk Time Machine isn’t a reinvention of the wheel, but that’s never been George Strait’s goal. Like Strait himself, the album is solid, steady, and undeniably, refreshingly country, adding another quality record to his extensive discography.

Like most George strait albums, this is a collection of solid, straightforward tunes with some exceptional moments. The high point of this particular record comes in Strait’s cover of “Old Violin,” a song originally written and performed by Johnny Paycheck. Personally, I’ve been hoping for a studio version of this since I heard him sing it live back in June. It’s a great fit for George vocally, and he really sells it well in terms of emotion. “Sometimes Love” is another strong ballad, this one exploring what happens when someone takes a casual relationship too seriously and accidentally falls in love. The title track is the highlight of the livelier selections, one of those songs that’s just fun to listen to and which would sound great in the kind of bar the song describes. “Codigo” is in a strange position, given that it’s essentially a commercial for the tequila Strait chose to invest in, but it’s actually one of the better songs here both lyrically and melodically. I’d argue that the more pandering reference to the tequila brand comes in “Every Little Honky Tonk Bar,” as they could have chosen any number of liquor brands to “do a shot” and conveniently chose to throw this one in. That’s no knock on “Every Little Honky Tonk Bar”; it’s also one of the stronger tracks on the record. But it seems more fair to criticize this line than the actual song “Codigo,” a catchy little number that we’d all love unconditionally if Strait hadn’t invested in the brand.

This album is not without its flaws. Several of these tracks feel like they could have used another verse or a bridge to tie everything together. “The Weight of the Badge” is the best example of this, a song that feels just short of being great and indeed could have been great if only it had been developed a little more. Some Nights” has some strange rhymes in the chorus, and it certainly seems like this idea could have been explored more deeply as well. And “Sing One With Willie” is fun and all, but ultimately, it’s a novelty and feels like a bit of a missed opportunity for two legends of the genre to give us something truly extraordinary.

But all in all, it’s another solid record from King George. It’s not earth-shattering, but that isn’t George strait. This album is what Strait does best, a solid collection of songs rife with fiddle and steel and piano and boasting smart, substantive lyrics. Strait is probably never going to release the Country exclusive album of the Year, but he’s also never given us a bad record in nearly forty years, and that’s truly a thing to behold. Another slice of solid, straight-up country music from one of the genre’s most special artists.

Buy the Album