Ashley McBryde returns today with her riotous collaboration of a record – Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville.
Since she burst into the scene with her majestic debut Girl Goin’ Nowhere, Ashley McBryde has continued to produce country songs that tell intricate and intimate stories. With Never Will, she did so through a more heavily rock production and on her new project – Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville – she indulges more overtly in her honky tonk, Americana and rootsy sound. Lindeville is a riotously fun and indulgent ride through different stories.
The record puts to the fore McBryde’s ability to craft an intricate story, nowhere is this more evident than in the genesis of the concept behind Lindeville, as McBryde shares, ‘“A few years ago, Aaron Raitiere, Nicolette Hayford and I were on a write… We wrote this song called ‘Blackout Betty,’ and I realized we had written previous songs called ‘Shut Up Sheila’ on Never Will and ‘Livin’ Next to Leroy’ on Girl Going Nowhere. Aaron had a song called ‘Jesus, Jenny,’ and I thought, ‘We should keep these characters together and give them a place to live!’ So McBryde took six of her favourite writers (‘six individuals out of their mind’ to a house, complete with eight bottles of tequila, two cartons of cigarettes, one kitchen table and created Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville. The project is a raucous festival showcase of country’s finest elements, from pedal steel to storytelling songwriting and some of modern country’s most signature vocals. The record is named after Dennis Linde – a legendary songwriter who was similarly inspired by this kind of character storytelling. McBryde set out with no intention of ever recording and releasing the album, yet from the tapes they created, John Osborne has created a polished and cohesive album, whilst retaining that chaotic energy in which the album was originated. It is that sense of unfiltered fun that comes through in the frank silliness of the record, with nonsensical tracks like ‘Brenda Put Your Bra On’ and ‘Dandelion Diner’ put alongside more muted tracks like ‘If These Dogs Could Talk’ and ‘Gospel Night at the Strip Club’ and it is important to bear the origins of the project in mind, for even a casual listening experience.
Each track is as distinct as the characters that they have created on the record – Osborne’s production is a masterstroke in building the production and instrumentation to round out the view of each character. So, ‘Brenda Put your Bra on’ has a swinging and grooving layer as three women talk about watching the town’s drama – namely a woman coming home to find a husband cheating with the babysitter – ‘Brenda put your bra on / There’s trouble next door / Grab a pack of cigarettes and meet me on the porch / Marvin baby mama ‘bout to catch him with a whore / Brenda put your bra on.’ The tone then moves to a more grungy, slow-lingering groove on ‘Jesus Jenny’ as a man pleads with a woman to take herself home before making a bad decision – ‘Jesus Jenny / What the hell’s gotten into you / Girl you’ve got a lot to lose / In the morning you’ve got work to do.’ There’s a darkness to the track that swiftly is demolished on the chaotically fun interlude of a radio jingle that is ‘Dandelion Diner,’ rounding out the view of Lindeville.
Whilst parts of the record are fun, filled with a joyful and chaotic energy, there are other tracks that are riddled with raw emotion. ‘Bonfire at Tina’s’ is given a plaintive note with the addition of a devastating strings section as McBryde leads the track about small-town women sharing each other’s emotional burdens. ‘Small town women / Ain’t built to get along / But you burn one boy, you burn us all / We’ll be here drinkin’ till the smoke is gone.’ McBryde’s vocal here comes to the fore, pouring emotion into her delivery as does Pillbox Patti with her smoke-tinged, raw vocal that brings to life the rock-tinged ballad of ‘The Girl in the Picture.’
An easy standout is offered on the vulnerable vocal performance from Brandy Clark on ‘If These Dogs Could Talk,’ that pairs seamlessly with McBryde’s own. It’s a waltzing delight of a track that tells of all the small-town gossip that the dogs have seen – ‘if these dogs could talk / They’d sure tell on you.’ What John Osborne has achieved is bringing out the signature sounds of all artists, but seamlessly shaping them to fit the framework both of Lindeville and of McBryde’s music, and this is as powerfully clear on this track as it is on ‘Play Ball’ where he and his brother feature alongside McBryde. This track is tenderly delivered as a track about the life story of a local softball player and the lessons on life he passed on, including, ‘Soak it in when you win ‘cause you can’t win ‘em all.’ Another stand-out is offered on the joyful, gospel-tinged Everly Brothers cover ‘When Will I Be Loved.’ Here, Brandy Clark, Caylee Hammack & Pillbox Patti join McBryde in a seeming joyful celebration of music itself.
It’s clear what McBryde set out to do on this project, but there is something disjointed that prevents it becoming a masterpiece. Where the rawness of The Marfa Tapes made it so compelling and interesting, there is something in Lindeville that just misses the mark as a casual listener. Still, for fans of McBryde, the record ticks all the boxes, namely offering raw, honest and specific portraits of small-town America, delivered in her intimate and authentic vocal. More than anything, the lyrics are worth more than a casual listen. McBryde has got under the skin of small-town America without indulging in cliches, understanding its true essence and causing the record to resonate on a deeper, more emotional level. Nowhere is that more evident than on the final track ‘Lindeville.’ Here, McBryde narrates the album as the town’s clock tower – ‘I’ve been keeping time on the courthouse square/ Since their daddies’ daddies put me here/ And tonight, I wish I could just stand still/ ‘Cause look at those stars over Lindeville’ – referencing the slew of characters that they have created. It’s a powerful celebration of everyday life and reality for the characters that have stepped through Lindeville and who will listen to the record, making it yet more compelling in its very ordinariness. More than anything though, it is also a riotous celebration of the talent in Nashville itself, from its songwriting to signature vocals and high quality production.
