LOLA KIRKE
Lady For Sale (Third Man)
When one thinks of country music’s great female voices, one thinks of Parton, Lynn, Cline etc. Their greatness partly stemmed from authenticity: a backstory that listeners could identify with in large parts. Lady For Sale from Lola Kirke is a country album made by the privately educated daughter of a 70s rock star. And whilst no one is saying that privilege equates to an absence of suffering, it certainly means you’ve got to be saying something original and worthwhile with your music.
Broken Families kicks things off, featuring a cameo from the brilliant Courtney Marie Andrews: the best thing on here, even if Andrews’ contribution is merely a backing vocal. After that, we get the vision. What if country music had horrible 80s retro synths farting in the background? Half the songs feature a keyboard setting that recalls the theme tune to Going For Gold. One song, The Crime, seems to have been going for Billie Eilish via Nashville and ended up with a tune Climie Fisher (ask your mum) would have binned. Horrible.
words PAUL JENKINS
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