It’s been nearly two years since Jimmie Allen took us for a drive down Mercury Lane and now he’s back with his new E.P, which was released this week entitled ‘Bettie James.’
In the singer’s debut work we were told a coming of age story full of ‘American Heartbreakers’ tips on how to be single, all while crossing ‘County Lines’. The album Mercury Lane was named in tribute to the street the star grew up on. Allen continues this tradition of home grown dedications in the title of his new EP. The title ‘Bettie James’ is inspired not only by his late father, James Allen, who passed away last year, but also blended in with a dedication towards the artist’s late grandmother Betty Snead.
“My dad and grandmom were two completely different people, but both played a huge part in my life,” Allen says in a release. “Since they died, I have been wanting to leave trails of their legacies throughout my music. … I am a fan of every artist on this project and humbled to have each one of them be a part of it. Each artist has touched the life of my dad, my grandmother and me through their music. I’m proud of this body of music and thankful to every writer that helped me create Bettie James.”
While Allen’s first album was following the beaten footpath of the bro country alumni that came before him, in this EP, Allen seems to be creating his own path – crossing the Florida Georgia Line, while broadening and maturing his sound. The thread that links each and every track on the project together is collaboration. Allen’s first album was lacking of participants which left a tonal homogeneity, which the artist is seeking to rectify on the release of Bettie James.
Allen lets the ‘Good Times Roll’ with Nelly on the opening track. Nelly, who has collaborated with country artists previously such as Tim McGraw and Florida Georgia Line, is no stranger to the Nashville scene. It’s definitely a track that you’ll be listening to ‘Over And Over Again’ – full buoyant banjo and tantalising trap matter. The track bridges the surging blues of the Milton, Delaware area with the grand scene of southern hip hop. Nelly not only serves Missouri twang as he opens not only the track but the entire project, as he raps ‘Brand new laces, fresh pair Jays, pocket full of blue faces, and ain’t rocking them hazies/ another rolly on my wrist, I’ll be ice ice baby’ which obviously plays homage to fellow Texan native Vanilla Ice. The track makes many references to other Texan tracks even sampling Nelly’s own ‘Country Grammar’ which was released as his own debut in 2000. You can note the sample in a modest snippet as Allen sings ‘I’m going down, down baby.’ The energy of the contrasting genres complement each other extremely well and both bring to the table a burst of vibrant effervescence to an infectious opener.
Allen takes a sultry turn as he then pairs up with ‘Better Than You Left Me’ songstress Mickey Guyton. The Dionysiac chemistry between the two will deluge your earphones. The way that writers Tommy Cecil, Matt McGinn, Lauren LaRue incorporate a rhythmic pattern into the lyrics during the chorus as Guyton angelically belts ‘I’m a little drunk and I miss you, I’m a little lonely that’s all, I’m a little too gone not to, and I’m sorry to call.’ The duo’s dynamic allows the two to explore such diverse range of emotions as they each contribute their own voices to the track. The track will connect with any lonely heart who is relapsing a breakup while at the bar. While the instrumentation on the track is not ostentatious, bearing a simple acoustic guitar melody accompanied by pirouetting percussion, it allows the vocal melody to soar and showcase its impassioned depth.
Allen’s multifaceted quality articulate different avenues of hurt to put light on ‘Made For These’ during the duet with the living legend, Tim McGraw. The male singers seem to battle the stigma of machoism by addressing pains in their journeys and ‘When you lose it all, shattered by the fall, when every road you take feels like the way down, let it make you stronger and fight a little harder, when you get to where you going then you see/ those days were made for these days.’ The song’s lyrics centre on living a positive life in the face of tribulations knowing that the climb will have a wealthy pay off. The duo bring a sense of spirituality among the gentle piano and occasional violin support.
On ‘Freedom Was A Highway,’ Brad Paisley lends his ultimate guitar skills which brings a rage of fire to the already perfect road trip song. The song blends a variety of sounds – country pop with honky- tonk guitar elements. The track has the tightest panning image which while narrows the song helps to illuminate the sense of a long highway.
The EP has many peaks and valleys of energy with ‘Freedom Was A Highway’ being one of the most demanding, and while the waves may come down during ‘Why Things Happen’ the pleasing track is a humbled storm within itself. The emotive vulnerability that Allen uses to address his father belies his tender sophomore position in the country community. The chorus is brimful with grieving tension as Allen, featuring stars: Darius Rucker and Charlie Pride harmonise on ‘You try not to question God in his judgement, but damn it, I don’t understand/ somebody tell me why things happen, things happen like they do.’ However, Allen also brings a bolder sense of maturity to the track as he broadens past his own painful experiences addressing; vilomahs, loss of siblings and questioning faith.
In ‘When This Is Over’, Allen discusses the pandemic and creates a sense of virtual community by featuring not only worship leader Tauren Wells, but also Rita Wilson alongside The Oak Ridge Boys. The song truly takes listeners to church with comforting messages such as ‘When this is over I hope I can take a little less for granted, hope I’m a little more understanding when somethings don’t make sense.’ While the mixture of artists can at times feel unmethodical, this factor have given the song the ability to showcase such diverse artist, painting a larger scale picture of the pandemic internationally, bridging even our own UK listeners to those just across the pond.
The closing track is Allen’s current, rising single ‘This Is Us’ featuring Noah Cyrus. Cyrus is usually known for her more electropop approach to music, and is daughter of Kentucky rocker Billy Ray Cyrus. While ‘This Is Us’ is a love song, it is a far cry from any ‘Achy Breaky Heart’ story. Lyrically the song is quite open ended – are these two childhood friends who have lost their chance at love? Or are these two former flames who refused to burn out? While the storyline is quite flexible it does allow listeners to bend the song around their own lives.
One thing is for certain… fans and new listeners alike will be joyful to hear the collaborative project and its faculty for redrawing genre boundaries.
Standout tracks:
Drunk & I Miss You featuring Mickey Guyton
Freedom was a highway featuring Brad Paisley
Made for these featuring Tim McGraw
