Time to go a bit country for this week's album review with the great new album from the shining light of US country, Ms Carrie Underwood. Once again, she has produced a captivating album filled with an amazing voice and some brilliantly written tunes.
What an apt title, "Storyteller" is, because that's exactly what Carrie Underwood has always been. She has an uncanny way of telling an amazing story with her words and that great voice, and that's what she's done with this album. Each of the 13 tracks is a great story, some sweet love songs, and then the tracks we've come to expect, cheating men and women getting their own back.
Carrie may not be reinventing the wheel with this album, but that doesn't mean she's not evolving. There's a more pop sound to a number of these tracks, and that works wonderfully. Lyrically the album is spot on, and there's a beautiful authenticity to the work that rings very true. Plus her voice is sounding as wondrous as ever.
First single, "Smoke Break" is still a great tune, though I wonder whether a song like "Dirty Laundry" may have been a better choice. All things considered, it's a fun first single and another great Carrie tune.
"Dirty Laundry" is a clear highlight. This is another great Carrie Underwood revenge song in the vein of the brilliant, "Before He Cheats". There's a nice driving beat and vocally she's amazing. Those lyrics are so fun, "I can tell by the smell of that perfume it's $40 too cheap". I would never want to do her wrong. "Choctaw County Affair" is an amazing tune. That harmonica is brilliant and the backing vocals add a great layer. This great story of murder, courts and locals sticking together is captivating. So is "Mexico", a Thelma and Louise style track that made me smile. The beat is a little darker, and the chorus is as catchy as hell.
It's not all revenge and driving guitars, "Heartbeat" may just be my favourite song on the album. This beautiful love song is the kind of ballad that makes your heart sing. It continues the theme of great stories, and hits us hard with lines like, "Drive so far we'll only find static on the radio". "Relapse" is a powerful mid tempo ballad about being addicted to a lover, by claiming "Don't think I'm coming back, it's just a relapse", we realise the lady may just be protesting too much for it too be true. I can relate right now.
Other great tunes include opener, "Renegade Runaway", a great dramatic start; "Church Bells", a tale of domestic abuse; "Chaser", which is lyrically spot on; and "What I Never Knew I Always Wanted" is a perfect closing point, a track that shows such a beautiful yearning.
While this may not be my favourite Carrie album, that honour belongs to "Blown Away", this a great album from the first lady of US Country. Guaranteed this will be on high rotation for the next few months, inspiring work from an artist fast becoming the leader in her field.
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