I’m back from a trip out of town, where I was able to listen to this next album on…a ferry! Also in my car, but not at the same time, although that would’ve technically been possible.
Disc 1671 is…Strays
Artist: Margo Price
Year of Release: 2023
What’s up with the Cover? Margo runs barefoot across a Mars-like landscape in what looks like a bridesmaid’s dress. There’s something awkward and hesitant in her pose here, but that’s likely just her taking short steps to ensure she doesn’t twist her ankle on the treacherous terrain.
I know what you’re thinking – wouldn’t she run a lot more efficiently in a pair of sneakers? You may be right, but think if she was still wearing those pink kitten heels from the wedding? Sometimes barefoot is the only option available!
But I digress…
How I Came To Know It: I was already a Margo Price fan, and this was just me buying her new album and hoping for the best.
How It Stacks Up: I have four Margo Price albums which is all of them. Unfortunately, “Strays” comes in at #4. Hey, something had to be last…
Rating: 3 stars
Margo Price doesn’t sell records like Taylor Swift, but she’s slowly and steadily grown her career, becoming an indie and critical darling in the process. The good reputation is very much earned, and Price is at a place in her career where she won’t be filling a football stadium but can at least damned well do what she pleases artistically.
As a result of all that (indie level) critical hype, I was pretty stoked when this record got released. I broke my own rules and went and read some background material about it, which made me confident that I was going to love it. I’d share that stuff, but it was someone else’s work and besides, we’re here for the music, not the bio.
On “Strays” Margo Price continues to do what has made her career so interesting to follow – a fearless willingness to go wherever her artistic inspiration takes her. Starting out very firmly in the country vibe, she has slowly and steadily added new approaches to her music like a closet full of consignment clothes, vibrant, eclectic and individual.
The record opens strong with the rollicking “Been to the Mountain” a semi-autobiographical tale celebrating her own rise from obscurity and poverty into respectability and financial security. Best line:
“I've been a victim and I've been a tumor
Used to be your waitress but now I'm a consumer”
This song got my energy up and while there were good moments yet to come, I don’t think Price ever lands the same ‘oomph’ as she does out of the gate.
Next up is “Light Me Up” which features Mike Campbell on guitar, although it feels halfway through that Mike is doing a Neil Young impression. Campbell is brilliant, but this song felt a bit too crammed with good ideas.
The record pays homage to many greats across multiple genres. “Radio,” is the best of these, a tune with a great mix of country bones dressed up with dance pop energy. It is a bit Springsteen, a bit Lucinda Williams, with some kind of dance pop energy that holds the whole thing together. All these styles merge flawlessly under Price’s careful coaxing, and the result is a mix of playful, sexy and a bit of nervous vulnerability.
The worst is “Lydia” which is trying to be gritty but felt dated before its time, like a spoken-word poem that was locked away in a time capsule from the mid-nineties. It is supposed to make you feel for the hard-scrabble title character, but at over six minutes I found that boredom had set in well before the song’s narrative had resolved.
This record has a dreamlike quality, and the genre jumps are a bit more pronounced than on her previous records. I like that Price tries a lot of stuff, but it also felt a bit what my stylish wife would call “too much icing, not enough cake”. The result is a lot of near brilliance but also a lack of cohesion. It made for a good record on the strength of sheer talent alone, but it could’ve been great with just a pinch more focus.
Best tracks: Been to the Mountain, Radio, Country Road
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