Reviews

Album Review – Laura Benitez and the Heartache – With All its Thorns

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Rating: 8/10

It’s no surprise to anyone who reads my reviews on Country Exclusive that I love traditional country music. If an artist currently makes authentic country with lots of steel—and said artist has a voice I appreciate—I’m a pretty easy sell. If you feel the same way as I do about music that fits these requirements, you need to check out Laura Benitez and the Heartache.

When you press play on the first song on this album, you know what you’re in for right away. There’s well-done instrumentation with lots of steel guitar, some nice and mostly upbeat rhythms, and even the occasional accordion. I was immediately interested in what kind of work Laura Benitez would create.

If the instrumentation is what caught my interest first, it was the lyrics that made me stay. The thing about this album is, there are a few songs where one line tells the whole story. “Ghost Ship” uses the line “I don’t know where you are” to help tell the tale of someone who has lost a loved one in a fire, and cannot locate that person afterword. “In Red” uses the lyrics “I should have married you in red” to act as a well-done omen. Upon a couple’s marriage, the new bride spills wine on her dress and jokingly says “I should have married you in red”. By the end of the song, the marriage isn’t going well at all, and she kills her husband. Then, there are songs that take words and twist them around. “The Fool I Am Right Now” is a honky tonk song about a woman who has been the fool who has maxed out her credit cards. She’s been the fool who didn’t take care of her car. However, she’d rather be the fool she is right now, which is a fool in love. “Why Does it Matter” details a woman saying it doesn’t matter if her man doesn’t love her, she’ll still do the same things she always does. It doesn’t matter to her if he has any feelings for her anymore. “But if it doesn’t matter,” she sings, “why does it matter so much?”

The rest of the songs are just as good. The first song, “Something Better Than a Broken Heart” revolves around a woman who thought she’d get something better than a broken heart. Her dreams of a home and love were all proven wrong when her partner left her. One of my favorites is the next track, “Easier Things to Do”. She sings about how it would be easier to not play music and to not love the man she loves, but she still does. “Our Remember Whens” is an awesome honky tonk song about a woman who’s just met someone. She’s excited for them to get to all of their memories. She looks forward to looking back into the past with her partner, sharing jokes and good times together.

“Whiskey Makes Me Love You” is an upbeat song, but it essentially says that alcohol makes her love the person she’s with, even though she already loves them a lot. “Almost The Right One(Casi Mi Cielo” is a sad song about a woman who thought she found the perfect man for her, the one she’d be with forever. As it turned out, he was almost the right one, painfully ending things when it could easily have turned into forever. “Secrets” details a couple where both the man and woman are cheating on their spouse. They justify it with “secrets are better than lies”. “Nora Went Down the Mountain” details the story of a woman who had been happily married, until one day when she just left home with no warning. This song is probably the most forgettable on the whole album, in my opinion. That’s saying a lot, though, since I like it well enough.

In case you couldn’t tell, I really liked this album. Laura Benitez brings a nice flair to this music with her voice, and the fact that she’s a Spanish speaker. I love the inclusion of the accordion, all of the steel guitar, and the cleverness of the lyrics. All in all, this is one of my new favorite discoveries of 2018 so far!

Buy the album on Amazon

Reviews

Album Review: Meghan Patrick–Country Music Made me do It

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Rating: 8/10

The problem has never been modern country. The problem has never been country mixing with pop or rock. The problems lie in the total eradication of country by these genres to the point you can’t call something pop country anymore because it’s just straight pop slapped with a country label, and too often it’s shitty, generic pop music to add insult to injury. So many traditionalists and especially purists will never find anything to value in modern styles of country music, and that’s perfectly fine as it relates to personal taste. But not all contemporary country is bad, and that’s why it’s so refreshing to see this being done right.

Enter Canadian country artist Meghan Patrick and her new album, Country Music Made me do It. Strict traditionalists, you probably aren’t going to find much to enjoy here–it’s not an album loaded with fiddle and steel by any means. But except for very small instances like on Maddie & Tae’s debut album, the instrumentation is organic, and more importantly, these are good slices of songwriting, enhanced by a great vocalist and by melodies that resonate, two things that are unfortunately too hard to come by at times in the independent scenes.

Even though it’s definitely modern, nailing down the specific sound of this album is a bit tricky. Sometimes, Meghan Patrick blends country and rock, like on the album highlight, “Walls Come Down,” a catchy as all hell tune that details the lives of a family whose secrets are laid bare when both parents have affairs. The sister has her own demons as a result, and as Patrick sings, “sometimes love just ain’t enough to keep the devil out of that picture-perfect house.” In a just world, this would be a 2018 radio hit. Another good country rocker is the defiant “Hardest on my Heart,” wherein Meghan details damaging her liver and her reputation, among other things. There are a lot of songs that detail stuff like this, being a badass and a rebel, to the point they can be a little cliché, but this one works because she acknowledges that her reckless behavior has been harder on herself than anyone. She’s not just proud of breaking hearts and being a strong woman; rather, she’s admitting the toll it takes on her as well as others. And of course there’s the excellent title track and opener, an autobiographical tale of her passion to follow country music.

Other songs could be classified more as pop country. “Bad Guy” and “Small Town” are the two strongest examples of this style, together creating a story in the heart of the album that details the end of a relationship. She has been the one to leave, and the whole town is talking about her, but it seems there is more to this story, and even though it was technically her who left, she didn’t do it without her reasons. Now it seems that the man, especially on “Bad Guy,” is trying to paint her as well, the bad guy, when there are actually two sides to the story. “Small Town” is the continuation, as she’s leaving behind a town that once felt like home to her because she’s sick of hearing the people talking about her behind her back and exchanging half-truths. Both songs indicate that she hasn’t totally moved on herself despite being the one to end it, and together, they create a great moment.

But she’s not always leaving behind relationships and breaking hearts. “George Strait” is a pretty worrisome title, but it’s a surprisingly well-framed love song with actual clever references to Strait songs, so that it becomes more than just a name-drop of the singer. “Case of Beer and a Bed” is one of the best songs here lyrically, as she sings of a couple whose best moments came when they could afford little, and all they needed was each other. Now they are caught up in trying to have more; this song is a reminder that the best things in life are often free, and as Meghan says, “life has a way of complicating love.” This one, though certainly modern, is also one of the most country. “The Way You Apologize” also sees Patrick in a rare vulnerable moment; here, she’s pretty sure the man she’s with is lying to her, but she can’t quite get over him enough to leave him. Not necessarily the best thing on the record, but it serves a nice purpose of showing another side to Meghan Patrick besides the heartbreaker portrayed throughout much of this album.

The only time the style becomes a little too pop is on the small town anthem “WE Got it All.” The lyrics are strong, a noteworthy fact because this had the opportunity to be one giant cliché, and the songwriting saved it from that. It’s just not great sonically. “Underrated” is also just kind of weird–it’s a strange hook to call your lover underrated, and it also has a bit of that East Nashville vibe that’s been done to death and which also doesn’t really suit the otherwise excellent, strong vocals of Meghan Patrick. “Feel me Gone” is easily the best vocal performance here, but the lyrics do fall slightly short, as the narrator is going to the bar alone because her man needs to “feel me gone” and lie awake by himself. She makes it clear that she’s not going to cross the line and just wants him to feel like she’s leaving, but it’s too vague about why he deserves this. Is he not appreciating her at home? Has he cheated on her or left her alone at night wondering, so that she wants him to feel the same way? The vocals here really are outstanding, so this is a minor problem, but having said that, if the lyrics were developed a little more here, this song could have been a standout of the whole record.

But the flaws on this album are minimal, and this is the first truly exciting discovery of 2018 for me. Not the album to buy if you want fiddle and steel, but if you like modern country, you’ll find a lot to enjoy. The melodies are catchy, and the songwriting holds up quite well. IN an ideal world, this is what mainstream country in 2018 would sound like. A great example of contemporary country done right.

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Concerts

Some Thoughts on Seeing John Baumann Live at The Blue Door

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My 2018 live music New Year’s resolution continued on Friday, (Jan. 19th), when I had the opportunity to see John Baumann live at The Blue Door, a great little listening room in Oklahoma City. I reviewed a Jason Eady show there last April, and I was excited to return to the venue.

I hadn’t known beforehand that this would be an acoustic show, but in a room like this, and with songwriting like that of Baumann, this turned out to be a very welcome thing. It became a really cool, intimate performance. Some of his songs are actually even better suited for this type of show. “Turquoise,” for example, already a highlight of his latest record Proving Grounds, actually sounded better stripped back with just the vocals and acoustic guitars. It takes a certain caliber of songwriting to be able to pull off this type of thing without it becoming “samey,” and John Baumann’s certainly qualifies.

But it wasn’t all the slow, thoughtful numbers you might expect from a show like this. There were nice lighter moments in songs like ‘bible Belt,” a story of growing up in the South and the first song Baumann says he felt like they wrote, and “Holding it Down,” a fun ode to Texas that he remarked should have been taken off the set list for a show in Oklahoma. There were also many breaks for humorous stories, like the inevitable butchering of his last name by concert promoters and his band’s fondness for puzzles. That ability to engage with the audience is great in any live setting, but it especially works at The Blue Door and listening rooms like it because in a small, intimate setting like this, it’s like John Baumann’s just gotten out his guitar and started performing in your living room. And why wouldn’t the guy performing informally in your living room take some breaks to talk about puzzles and Farkle?

I’ve seen two very different shows in two very different settings so far this year, and each one offered unique things to appreciate about live music. I’m only two into what will hopefully be at least twelve shows this year, but I’m already finding a deeper appreciation for the art of live music from these artists. Thanks, John Baumann, for another great live show to add to my 2018 concert series.

Best Live Acoustic Songs: “Turquoise,” “Here I Come,” “Bible Belt,” “Midland”

Reviews

Song Review: Carrie Underwood’s “The Champion” (featuring Ludacris)

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Super bowl Anthem Rating: 5/10
Overall Rating as a Song: 2/10

So let’s assume this song stays a sports thing. Carrie Underwood and Ludacris are a terrible pair on paper, but maybe I can see appealing to a wider audience with this collaboration. The lyrics are generic, but maybe this is also what you need, just something to hype people up for the Super Bowl. I could take it or leave it I guess, but it serves its purpose and isn’t really hurting anyone at all with is existence.

But let’s now view this as a Carrie Underwood song, and actually, let’s not even take into account that it might be sent to country radio. Obviously it’s pop and has no shred of country in it whatsoever, and if it gets serviced to the country airwaves, this will be another problem altogether, but for a moment, let’s ignore this because of the artist in question. Carrie Underwood has never claimed to be strictly country, has always released pop singles, and has even sent songs to pop radio. She’s never been holding the torch for traditional country, even if she’s been a beacon of talent in the mainstream, so it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that this single favors electronic beats over fiddle and steel.

What should be a surprise, however, and should be met with disgust by all Carrie Underwood fans everywhere, is the absolute butchering of a world-class voice by one, distorting and transforming her to sound almost robotic, and two, by forcing her to sing something so lacking in any measurable melody. This song relies on rhythm, except for one or two spots before the chorus where you hear Carrie break free and subsequently weep for the fact that her voice is kept constrained to these four or five notes and choppy rhythms. Carrie Underwood is better, and indeed, this song could have been better even for what it is had her voice been allowed to shine. This is Underwood’s best quality, and it’s being utterly ignored here. And let’s hope this is a standalone single and not some horrifying glimpse into the sound of her next album; country pop is one thing, straight pop is another, but singing pop infused with hip-hop phrasing and beats is on quite a different level and does not suit the particular vocal quality and talents of Carrie Underwood. The voice that gave us the stunning tribute to country’s fallen greats and the Las Vegas victims on live television should not be forced into these boxes in some sort of misguided effort to stay relevant.

And what about the part of Ludacris in all this? Well, admittedly, the spelling out of “champion” is a bit irritating, but his part actually comes off better than Carrie’s, and well it should, because Ludacris is at least in his lane here. Carrie Underwood doesn’t even sound comfortable singing this–which almost makes too much sense since she doesn’t ever sing stuff like this…but I digress.

But I don’t want to focus too much on Ludacris, for if this does stay a sports anthem, or even if it goes to pop radio, there won’t really be an issue with him. If this comes to country radio, again, obviously it’s a different story, but for now, Ludacris is not the problem with this song. The problem is it doesn’t fit Carrie Underwood in the slightest. So let’s hope it stays a harmless NFL hype song, and that her subsequent singles and album won’t carry this influence–because this, friends, is not Carrie Underwood, and it shows.

Reviews

Album Review: Teea Goans – Swing, Shuffle And Sway

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Rating: 7.5/10

I always get excited when I discover a new traditional country singer, particularly if that vocalist also happens to be female. Therefore, when I saw Trigger from Saving Country Music talking about Teea Goans in those terms, I knew I had to check her out.

It was love at first listen when I heard the opening notes of “Go Down Swinging’”. It’s a shuffle featuring fiddle and steel, all about how much she loves swing and country music. With her high, clear voice, I admired Teea Goans’ singing as well. The next song slows things down. “I’d Be a Legend in my Time” is all about how if heartache and sadness brought fame, she’d be a legend. It’s a good cover, for sure. She is able to deliver the song in such a way that you really feel the emotion.

“Heart Over Mind” tells of a woman who knows she should leave her partner, but then, he makes the woman think he loves her, and her heart won’t let her end things. This is yet another shuffle, and I have to say that this is very welcome since a lot of albums are filled with more slow songs. “That’s the Thing About Love” has lyrics that revolve around the myriad of feelings one can get while infatuated with someone. While not an especially memorable song, the melody and Teea Goans’ pleasant voice make it listenable.

Next is my favorite song off of this album. “Just Because She Always Has” tells the tale of a man who took his partner for granted. She always cleaned up for him and did the cooking. She had always loved him despite everything, but just because she had always done and felt those things before didn’t mean that she always would. This is an amazing country song, and I highly recommend that if you don’t listen to the whole album, you should check out this individual song, at least. “It Ain’t Nothin’” is a cover sung with Mark Wills. I confess, I keep hearing Randy Travis singing this, but I found it an good cover. It’s upbeat and fun.

“Tell Me I’m Crazy” is another sad country song, with some awesome steel guitar. The woman wants to be convinced that she’s crazy and her relationship isn’t ending. This is probably my second favorite track off of this album. “Steel Guitar Rag” is fun and upbeat, and it’s all about how great the steel guitar sounds. Since I’m all for more steel guitar, I found this song fun. I haven’t heard the original, but I do like this version.

“I Know the Lord Will Stand By Me” is one of two gospel songs on this project. It’s upbeat with some really well-done piano, all about how she knows that Jesus will keep her safe and happy. “You Don’t Know Me” is a song about unrequited love. The woman in the song says that even though she’s been friends with a man for years, he doesn’t really know her. This is because she has dreams of him and wants to be with him. I find this song pretty forgettable, but it’s not bad.

“A Way To Survive” features some more awesome fiddle. It’s a song wherein the protagonist keeps her former lover’s picture and letters. Reliving her memories is what kept her going and helped her survive. The last song is the other gospel track on the album. “Mercy Walked In” is about a person who was guilty of something unspecified, but then was let go due to mercy. For me, this song gives way too few details. I know logically that it’s all about God and his mercy, but the vagueness keeps me from really getting emotionally into the song.

Overall, I quite like this album. I think Teea Goans is a singer to watch if you like more traditional country music. I even like that she was willing to include some gospel on this album, since there are some gospel influences in country. The instrumentation on here is stellar, too. There is a pretty even number of fast and slow songs, which makes a refreshing change from all of the slower albums. In short, if you are looking for a female singer who does traditional country right, look no further than Teea Goans.

Buy The Album On Amazon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBwdGVd4A8Q

The Most Destructive Criticism is Indifference