Nashville, Tennessee is obviously the heart and soul of country music however Lucie Silvas continues to promote the eclectic mix of styles and sounds that can be associated with the city. During the showcase to promote the album earlier this month in London, Lucie emphasised how much talent has congregated in that city which has brought about a real sense of community that is both welcoming and supportive.
Everybody Gets Off or the acronym E.G.O. is the result of an independent project that was self-funded through touring as an opening act for Chris Stapleton. The song is about what people want to get from something, where she depicted that she couldn’t imagine a world where she would wake up and not want to be collaborating and writing songs whilst others may get off on the idea of fame and fortune.
She talked about making a record that she wanted to and how she wanted to make it that the freedom from being independent allows. This is very evident as it is difficult to firmly place the album within a sector or define a genre because there are sounds and influences from right across the musical spectrum.
There will obviously be links and some draw to a certain genre due to being on tour with Miranda Lambert in addition to Chris Stapleton, the writers that contributed to the record and her being an expatriate residing in Nashville that is married to one of country music’s brightest stars. Her sound and her ethos is so much more than that, there is as always an edgy side of a soulful sound that also incorporates a rockier side of blues and it is hard to resist the ease to mention a comparison to Dusty Springfield when talking about Lucie.
The album was crafted into a masterpiece by London based producer and Lucie’s long-time friend Jon Green where the way the record incorporates so many unique elements to bring songs that may have previously been heard live to a special place. A particular example of this is the new arrangement and addition of the strings to Just for the Record, which is a beautiful ballad about how you felt about someone after you have moved on from the relationship that was co-written by Ruston Kelly. This is just one example of the clean, crisp production that Jon has achieved in making this a slick piece of art that brings so many different sounds together.
Kicking off with Kite which acts as the lead single in the United States which is a powerful up-tempo song full of synth and a killer John Osborne guitar riff that was co-written with Gabe Simon and Natalie Hemby about being fearless, fierce independence and someone that can’t be held down where falling in love will almost dampen their free spirit.
Following on from this is Lucie’s metaphor for situations where people want you to be something that you are not. Girls from California is again co-written with Natalie Hemby but this time alongside Liz Rose also, the ladies deliver a song and harmonies that just scream out the imagery of oceans and the beach with a very strong Brian Wilsonesque vibe that will be a very well received first release in the UK off the record.
Smoking Your Weed is a song that many of us have heard on Lucie’s previous visits to our isles about an experience we have all either seen or been a victim of ourselves depicting someone being dragged along by someone with an ulterior motive with no realisation. It is a fun song written with her husband that is both enjoyable and highly relatable.
The variation and creativity in this album is surmised by the more typical expectations of tracks like Black Jeans and the final track off the record Change My Mind which depicts the journey from unwillingness to change anything to wanting to do everything with someone (which is was written with Keelan Donovan and a young lady I was lucky enough to discover when I visited Nashville in June that the UK will absolutely fall in love with when she tours for the CMA songwriters series later this year called Tenille Townes) which are what people would expect to love from a Lucie Silvas story compared to the power pop rock vibes from my personal favourite song off the record First Rate Heartbreak which is a track a very much look forward to seeing live.
The way that Lucie portrays the journey of love songs and a relationship is beautifully demonstrated in what she described as her favourite song off the record Everything Looks Beautiful which was again written with Natalie Hemby and Gabe Simon as it really does encompass the way love as a sentiment should look and feel as you fall for somebody.
What draws me to love this record and the title track in particular is how Lucie along with Elise Hayes and Natalie Hemby (who I have mentioned far too many times but we are so infatuated with as a songwriter and eternally gratefully for her visit earlier this year) who she wrote the song with is how it shows that making music is not just seeking the fabled city of gold but how dreams coming true is not purely based on acclaim or recognition but the importance of doing something that is beautiful to yourself and what brings your own self-fulfilment.
Lucie Silvas 4th full length album E.G.O. is available today (24/08/2018) and she returns to the UK later this year as the opening act for her husband John and his brother TJ when Brothers Osborne will be wowing the crowds with their powerful blend of country rock and roll.
1: Kite, 2: Girls from California, 3: Smoking Your Weed, 4: I Want You All to Myself, 5: Black Jeans, 6: First Rate Heartbreak, 7: Everything Looks Beautiful, 8: People Can Change, 9: My Old Habits, 10: Just for the Record, 11: E.G.O., 12: Change My Mind.
