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Rating: I am writing this review while listening to the album...
A pearl, truly, a real pearl in the new female country singer-songwriter scene.
Following in the footsteps of Lucinda Williams but much grittier and "cursed", Mary sings to us with a hiss her stories of losers and outcasts... the atmospheres are desert-like in the introductory "Falling Out Of Love", narrating the end of a love consumed between seedy motels and kissing behind dusty diners.
Her voice crackles as if filtered through an old tube radio... the car sets off again on the velvet cloth of "Mercy Now": practically a classic worthy of the late Johnny Cash, with its simple and direct language and equally impactful chord progression.
"Wheel Inside The Wheel" is a Delta blues that burns like the wheat fields in Terrence Malick's "Days of Heaven", while the slide guitar takes you through the ferns and in the distance you see the stripe of fire, Uncle Johnny's deadly ring of fire.
The baton is passed to "I Drink" with its resigned chorus: "Birds fly, fish swim, old men sit here and think, I drink...", irresistible.
Another touching gem of the album is "Empty Spaces": here Gauthier's voice is truly a sting driven into the heart... it’s been a while since I felt such emotions listening to a female voice sweetly suggesting her lyrics from my stereo. Very, very beautiful.
Seek out this album, even if the genre isn't precisely your cup of tea, because it's a small masterpiece of American songwriting from the new generation.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Mercy Now (05:50)
Written by Mary Gauthier
My father could use a little mercy now
The fruits of his labor
Fall and rot slowly on the ground
His work is almost over
It won't be long and he won't be around
I love my father, and he could use some mercy now
My brother could use a little mercy now
He's a stranger to freedom
He's shackled to his fears and doubts
The pain that he lives in is
Almost more than living will allow
I love my bother, and he could use some mercy now
My church and my country could use a little mercy now
As they sink into a poisoned pit
That's going to take forever to climb out
They carry the weight of the faithful
Who follow them down
I love my church and country, and they could use some mercy now
Every living thing could use a little mercy now
Only the hand of grace can end the race
Towards another mushroom cloud
People in power, well
They'll do anything to keep their crown
I love life, and life itself could use some mercy now
Yeah, we all could use a little mercy now
I know we don't deserve it
But we need it anyhow
We hang in the balance
Dangle 'tween hell and hallowed ground
Every single one of us could use some mercy now
Every single one of us could use some mercy now
04 I Drink (04:31)
Written by Mary Gauthier and Crit Harmon
He'd get home at 5:30, fix his drink
And sit down in his chair
Pick a fight with mama
Complain about us kids getting in his hair
At night he'd sit alone and smoke
I'd see his frown behind his lighter's flame
Now that same frown's in my mirror
I got my daddy's blood inside my veins
Fish swim
Birds fly
Daddies yell
Mamas cry
Old men
Sit and think
I drink
Chicken TV dinner
6 minutes on defrost, 3 on high
A beer to wash it down with
Then another, a little whiskey on the side
It's not so bad alone here
It don't bother me that every night's the same
I don't need another lover
Hanging 'round, trying to make me change
Fish swim
Birds fly
Lovers leave
By and by
Old men
Sit and think
I drink
I know what I am
But I don't give a damn
Fish swim
Birds fly
Daddies yell
Mamas cry
Old men
Sit and think
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