Hemby naturally stuns with lyricism and substance
Natalie Hemby is the type of artist that would be your favorite artist’s favorite artist. From songwriting credits with artists such as Toby Keith, Little Big Town and even Lady Gaga, Hemby has often found herself as a popular backstage character for no good reason other than she has not gotten her due attention. With the formation of the female country supergroup, The Highwomen, Hemby has been able to enjoy more response than usual, yet she still shares the limelight with three others. With her newest project, Pins And Needles, Hemby delivers to her steady fans but opens up a musical space where anyone that hears it will be hooked.
“Heroes” kicks off the project with a groovy swagger. Acoustic guitars and a vocal humming author the laid-back intensity of this first track. Hemby shows her feminine machismo with the powered drums and guitars. Asserting that she “doesn’t want to meet [her] heroes,” Hemby sticks it to the man and declares that she is her own hero behind an army of electric instruments offering backup. Though sometimes calmed, the intensity does not start and stop with “Heroes.” “New Madrid,” the second track on the album, offers up a different sort of musical force. Quick acoustic chords, crying steel and paced snares provide the foreground for the song while a droning synth plays behind it, giving the impression of movement. “It’s been so long since I felt something,” reflects Hemby being a perfect line to fit in with the lonesome, traveling soundscape that guides her voice.
The title track and the third song on the project comes with “Pins And Needles.” A grooved drum rhythm, continuous piano chords and flavors of the electric guitar mark the lines of this song. “Give it up, don’t try is what I tell myself but it’s like running from rain in the desert.” Lyrically, this phrase about the feeling of futility can’t be overlooked.
From here, the middle section of the project presents audiences with some of Hemby’s most raucous and fun moments. In “Hardest Part About Business,” Hemby lets her badassery shine in this beerhall banjo banger. Modulated rock guitars ring out behind the words, “The hardest part about business is minding your own.” Vaguely reminiscent of Lady Gaga’s 2017 rock hit “Yoü and I,” this track is guaranteed to move a crowd. “Banshee” follows after. Musically, it’s a punchy, whistle-filled track filled with mystery. Lyrically, it’s a highly complex supernatural metaphor comparing a Banshee to an ex-girlfriend of a new lover. Whether you are looking for rock or rhyme, this song has it for you.
“Radio Silence” represents a different sort of song on this album. Much slower and leaning on the crutch of pop, this track is made for reflection. It lets Hemby’s vocals and lyrics come to life. The introspective period after a lost love takes form in the words on the page. She did “everything to keep the signal from dying,” but all she heard was “radio silence.” Even with its melancholy atmosphere, it isn’t hard to believe that this is the most streamed song so far.
The final song on the album, “Last Resort,” fits within the saddened mystery of a few of the other tracks on the project. Beginning with only a bass and snare drum over a simplistic acoustic riff, Hemby enters with breathy notes that don’t find themselves within the Western musical canon commonly. Creating the mystique that often finds itself in a Hemby song, there is a sort of comfort that the instruments exude too. Though they may be “caught in a storm,” she will always be his “last resort,” finalizing the ideas and uncertainty that has been present throughout the album.
Unsurprisingly, Natalie Hemby has released another phenomenal album full of soul, swagger and substance. When she aims to hit a mark, she does—she wants to make a groovy, alternative track? There is “Heroes.” Maybe one day she was enjoying old school rock ‘n’ roll—she gives people “Hardest Part About Business.” Just like every other human, not all of Hemby’s days are remarkable—so she delivers “Radio Silence.” In Pins And Needles, the instrumentals alone would be an enjoyable listen, and the lyrics could be separated for analytical revelations. This pairing is what makes Natalie Hemby’s newest album a masterpiece.
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