Brandy Clark’s ‘Your Life Is A Record’ is a Record for a Lifetime

The new album Your Life is a Record by Brandy Clark is out now. We review the record and reveal our stand-out tracks.

Brandy Clark is somewhat of an outlier in the country genre, carving her own path and knowing exactly who she is, from 12 Stories to Big Day in a Small Town now to her latest record. Through it all, incredible songwriting has always laid the foundation of her music and her artistry. She built her reputation in Nashville through writing songs for other artists – often in collaboration with Shane McAnally – including Miranda Lambert‘s ‘Mama’s Broken Heart,’ Kacey Musgraves‘ ‘Follow Your Arrow’ and Hailey Whitter’s ‘Ten Year Town,’ to name a few. The respect she has for lyrics and songwriting as a craft is paramountly clear throughout this record that delves into the struggles of women, heartbreak and the human experience. Clark’s art is in her details and her loving attention to the creation of a story and set. In ‘Pawn Shop’ she paints a picture of a shop on Charlotte Avenue, where a failed musician and a divorcee drop off their possessions.

This, record may just be her best yet. Clark herself stated that in this record she found herself. The proof is in the listening. This is a stellar record, filled with all the tropes we love about country music, but managing to avoid cliche and stereotype. The record has elevated Clark from songwriter, to artist, thanks in part to Joyce’s magical production replete with strings and acoustic instrumentation. It is clear that Clark has made the record here that she wanted to put out, not chasing radio play, but staying true to her own sensibilities as an artist and her own story.

The record starts with ‘I’ll Be The Sad Song,’ a glorious track where Clark compares life itself to a record, hence the title of the album. This is heartbreaking songwriting at its finest. ‘I’ll be the sad song / Your good love gone bad song / Part of your heart that’s bittersweet. / Couldn’t be your happy song, but at least we had a song.’ The magic here is in the swelling production, largely stripped back or with delicate strings in the background. This is the first of many heartbreak songs on the record – inspired by Clark’s own recent breakup after a 15 year long relationship – that question precisely where you stand after a breakup, whether to move on, whether to look back with love or pain or nostalgia. This track acts as a kind of thesis statement for the rest of the record going forward.

‘Long Walk,’ by contrast, feels incredibly nostalgic in feel production-wise, shaking up Clark’s sound. The track takes time out to cheerfully take down hypocrites and critics alike. ‘I hear it’s as cold as you at the bottom of the ocean.’ Tracks like this, and later ‘Bad Car’ and ‘Pawn Shop’ are needed as accents in the record to break it up sonically and thematically. In the latter, Clark takes time out to explore the ‘things’ involved in relationships. ‘It never even crossed my mind back when it was new / It’d end up in a pawn shop on Charlotte Avenue.’ Though putting the spotlight on breakups again, this trio are more cheerful in tone, providing a different angle to sadness in their storylines. Similarly, outlying track, ‘Bigger Boat,’ a duet with Randy Newman also changes up the story of the record, singing about making peace. It is probably the weakest sonic and lyrical moment in the record, but it does provide a moment of needed reprieve before diving back into more heartache songs. Clark’s voice though is allowed to really flourish in this track, and the choice of Newman as her duetting partner – though a curious one – is a pleasingly surprising choice.

Clark throughout the record shows no fear in revealing every side of her heart to her audience. In sultry ‘Love is a Fire,’ she focusses on the all-consuming nature of love. ‘You know it can’t be contained, no, it won’t be tamed.’ ‘Who You Thought I Was’ is the clear centrepiece of the record and is without a doubt, the track is her best to date. Inspired by a John Prine speech, the song is so intimate as to almost feel painful. Its a stunning retrospective on how she felt with someone who saw the best in her – after a break-up. Here, Joyce’s production enables the track to swell with emotion. ‘I wanna be the me I should’ve been / When we were together / I wanna be at least / Almost close to worth your love / I wanna be who / You thought I was.’ The jaunty rhythm, though surprising, fits perfectly and the entire track is so poised, so relatable and so incredibly real – it is one of the best tracks you’ll find recently, not just in country music, but in music period.

‘Apologies’ is another almost disturbingly intimate song, ‘If you can forgive me maybe I can forgive me.’ Joyce’s astute touch is again clear in his touches of instrumentation that look outside the box, with hints of flute in the background that provide the perfect light touch.

Joyce has a unique ability to couch heartbreaking songs in a more upbeat production, without detracting their emotional value. ‘Who Broke Whose Heart’ is a delightfully jaunty track, breaking down all the haunting questions that come after a break-up – yet the production fits, making it a song about moving on. Similarly, ‘Can We Be Strangers’ opens with a lacing of flute trills, before diving into a gorgeously quiet track where Clark wishes she had never met her former lover. ‘We struck out as lovers / We struck out as friends.’ Clark’s songwriting prowess comes through clearly in the details with which she accessorizes her songs,  ‘You wouldn’t be that number I’ve deleted seven times / Or that hammer in my chest when someone orders Crown and Sprite.’

‘The Past is the Past’ is the perfect sad culmination to this heartbreaking record. ‘This is where the past is the past / Where the meant-to-bes ain’t meant to last.’ Clark is a true craftsman of lyrics, delivering finely chiselled song time after time, yet the arrangement of this record has really stepped up her game, pinning her as an artist. This is a record that will be absorbed by her fans and listened to on repeat. In this record, Clark paints a picture of universal heartbreak, turning the spotlight on her audience to create tracks that will speak to every casual listener. 

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Editor’s Picks

I’ll Be The Sad Song

Who You Thought I Was

Pawn Shop