It would be an understatement to say that country fans were waiting for this for a long time. Jennifer Nettles’ first solo album released non-independently, ‘That Girl’ hit stores this week in a flurry of reviews, all along the same lines: it’s great, but is it country?
Continuing a thread often forgotten and frayed, Jennifer uses ‘That Girl’ to tap into a number of more old-school sounds, namely 1970’s singer/songwriter, as well as soul, latin and rock ‘n’ roll. The country audience is not always familiar with other genres and how they differ, and so it is likely that keeping the context of Sugarland they will label this album country. But it is not so, and it’s interesting how Jennifer has made no attempt to cater to those fans. In the making of this album, she was not afraid to simply make the music that she wanted, despite how she has been marketed in the past and the make-up of her fanbase.
Equally, however, that’s not to say that we cannot find country if we look for it. The opening track (and new single) ‘Falling’, for example, begins acoustically, with a delicate and expressive melody that draws just as much from country as it does from soul. Weaving into classic rock, the song defies genre pigeonholing whilst remaining solid, well-written and well-produced, the kind of music that becomes an instant classic, one that can be enjoyed by all. What’s more, the tale of summer love is detailed in its imagery yet leave enough to the imagination to make it a tender and magical story. The same can be said for ‘Thank You’. Co-written with Phillip Sweet of Little Big Town, it is an admission of gratitude and perhaps a confession of love, for someone who was always there for them. This song, in all its beautiful acoustic glory and rising melody, not afraid to dip into the relative minor to retain interest, is one that is quite close to my heart for it sheer relatability. It’s honest, truly heartfelt and vulnerable, and certainly the latter is a feeling that Jennifer puts across very well.
Take ‘Me Without You’ for example. Echoing the musical influences of pioneers such as Joni Mitchell, Jennifer again channels the acoustic and understatement, giving voice to the trapped bird in all women. ‘Me Without You’ is the definition of vulnerable, finally emancipated only to not quite know how to live alone and make her own decisions. Yet in this way it is also uplifting and full of strength, to go out into the world and want to capture those new possibilities and opportunities. It reminds me of the 1994 movie Shawshank Redemption, where longtime prisoner Red (played by Morgan Freeman) is set free, only to not know how to cope in a free world without control, noting that many before him had taken their own lives through the pressure. ‘Me Without You’ is a perfect accompaniment to such an emotion, fear mixed with curiosity about the big wide world. ‘Good Time To Cry’ is also vulnerable yet strong, but it finds comfort in admitting that vulnerability and allowing oneself to let go, to cry when everything gets too much, all inside an old-school soulful number that fits Jennifer’s voice sublimely.
The soulful vibe continues through ‘This One’s For You’ (co-written with Sara Bareilles), cinematic in its jazzy, cabaret style and providing a setting of a downtown bar in somewhere like New York or Chicago. Jennifer continues to experiment with styles through her cover of Bob Seger’s ‘Like A Rock’, the closer and another track that builds from the barely audible to a huge, crashing, belting peak before settling into how it began, a full circle that emphasizes its storytelling element. ‘This Angel’, too, is a beautiful dedication of faith with yet another captivating acoustic picking pattern, supported by melodic strings and Jennifer’s hard-hitting, meaningful performance. It’s telling of her abilities that she’s able to put across every song with every ounce of her being and make it as believable as if she lived it herself, as well as delivering a technically perfect recording.
But another key part of this album is in the songwriting. ‘That Girl’, the lead single, pitched itself as a response song to Dolly Parton’s famous ‘Jolene’. Jennifer tells the part of Jolene not only in a way that makes us feel sympathy for her, but also in a way that renders her innocent, an interesting switch that only does justice to its inspiration (my full single review is here). Its latin feel adds a sexiness that we come to expect from Jolene, and Jennifer utilizes this again for ‘Jealousy’, possibly my favorite track on the album. Giving off a feel of laid-back Caribbean living, she eludes expectations by turning it into a tale that so many of us can relate to. Put quite simply, it highlights what jealousy can turn people into when their love is taken by another, but takes things up a notch when descriptions of what this has made the narrator do are hilarious, especially when sung entirely with a straight face. This includes mentioning “I’ll even tolerate your skanky fake hair”, that when heard not read does not come across with so much malice as a hysterical reflection of what we can all be like when faced with a person we do not like one bit.
Jennifer also demonstrates her ability to write truly intelligent lyrics that reflect the outside world on ‘Moneyball’, that is concerned with the modernization of the western world and the speed at which it is doing so. I suspect that many country fans will relate to this, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it became an anthem. But finally, possibly the greatest example of songwriting on this record is ‘Know You Wanna Know’, a killer rock ‘n’ roll track that directly exposes the gossip and scandal tendencies of the internet generation when faced with Music City and the entertainment industry in general. It’s definitely worthy of becoming a single, if only for its challenging of role models who leave bad messages to young fans just for augmented fame (cough cough Miley Cyrus). Fun, amusing and with a valid point about society as well as a great musical soundtrack, it sums up ‘That Girl’ for me. It shows that Jennifer has (and has always had) the full package. She can sing, she can expressively deliver, she can write, and she can provide music that is varied, clever and fulfilling.
Whether this record is country or not kind of doesn’t matter. Perhaps she could have tapped in more to the real-life commentary that illustrates some of the songs, but ultimately this is just a record of solid tracks that are heartfelt and often instant classics. Let’s just hope that country radio gives her a chance to challenge the norm like her fans have.
