It’s been over three years since Jana Kramer’s self-titled debut album hit stores, so you could say that ‘Thirty One’ has been a long time coming. In the meantime bro-country took hold before being at least partially replaced by a new generation of R&B-leaning acts, but one consistency throughout the period has been its lack of support for women. Jana experienced that first hand in 2013 with the third single from her debut, ‘I Hope It Rains’ (top 50), and also in 2014 with the release of ‘Love’, then the lead single from her new project (it reached top 40). After the song peaked Jana and her team took some time and earlier this Spring debuted ‘I Got The Boy’, which so far has turned out to be her second biggest hit (of five singles released to date). It currently stands inside the top 25 and is still rising, with a slew of critics suddenly jumping on board to praise the sweet ode to a past relationship.
‘Thirty One’ is getting released now largely due to the strength of ‘I Got The Boy’ and its connection with listeners, and it’s true that the track is one of the best on the record. It is, in my opinion, her most “country” song, which makes its success all the more refreshing at a time when radio is dominated by the infusions of outside genres and styles. While at times her voice’s inflections are sharp and almost grating on the recording, its rawness really sells the bittersweet narrative of missing what a first love meant, and comparing what she experienced to what his new wife will have. Yet there’s not so much heartbreak here, as more of a musing on how each woman got different parts of this man’s life and person, and wondering which she would prefer, if she had the choice. It’s a mature and rather original take on watching a first love move on years later, which is surprising given how many listeners seem to have experienced the exact same thing.
Much of the delights on ‘Thirty One’ exist in the ballads. ‘Love’, a little more mid-tempo leaning than some of the others, is nonetheless a charming and personal take on continuing to believe in love despite being burned before. Considering that Jana has been married three times and also engaged separately before, it’s one that suits her down to a tee and it’s actually surprising she didn’t write it (that credit goes to Catt Gravitt and Jimmy Robbins). ‘Dance In The Rain’, with its throbbing guitar delay, soft percussion and subtle reverb, allows her vocals to shine on a lyric about learning to deal with heartbreak and the journey to moving on. This, and the gut punch of ‘Last Song’, shows how she is able to connect with highly personal material, and how the wisdom of a life lived can add gravitas to your performances. I feel her soul more on this album than I did on her debut, and I don’t know whether it’s because I know more about her personal life now, but there’s definitely an edge, a raw spark, that wasn’t there before.
Certainly the opening line of ‘Last Song’, which reads “This will be the last song about all the shit that went wrong,” is one that refuses to pull any punches, and evolves into one of Jana’s most honest, earnest deliveries to date. She does have a co-writing credit here, alongside Skip Black, Logen Michael and Nicole Witt, and it’s proof of that well-worn phrase “leaving the best ‘til last”.
Still, that’s not to say that her more upbeat tracks aren’t worthy of note too. The likes of ‘Bullet’ (featuring Steven Tyler), while using plenty of outright pop elements, are fun and striking with more nods to aspects of her life. This track in particular is rumored to be about Brantley Gilbert, and those words are sure to hurt, “so glad I dodged a bullet.” Another great offering (although with the potential to be polarizing) is ‘Said No-One Ever’. There’s no linear narrative here, but rather a string of examples of things no-one wants or says, and it slots together with a slight island/reggae beat and a nasally pop hook. It’s infectious and is guaranteed to get most any audience up and dancing, even if it is a little silly and tongue-in-cheek.
Likely to be picked as a single is ‘Boomerang’, the album’s opening track and a southern rock-inspired, up-tempo kiss-off. There is definitely a rockier sonic theme running through this record, although in each case it’s filtered through pop and polished up. That sound appears again on ‘Don’t Touch My Radio’, a track which hints at leaning towards female empowerment in a relationship dynamic, but stops just short of what I could actively praise.
The other offerings, ‘Circles’, ‘Pop That Bottle’ and ‘Just Like In The Movies’, are average to boring, and while none of the songs on ‘Thirty One’ are bad per se, the three above lack the attitude and the heart displayed elsewhere. Overall it’s a solid follow-up, providing more musical diversity than her debut and with more grit and honesty to get stuck into. It’s still very much country pop, which I think is where Jana excels, but there are some genuinely fun and beautiful songs on the record that are really enjoyable. I hope she gets the chance to show some of them off at radio.
Originally posted here.
