Four strong efforts this week, as 2024 will not be stopped.
“The Ghost of You”
Lindi Ortega
Written by Mike Meadows and Lindi Ortega
Jonathan Keefe: We just covered the folk horror triumph of Moira Smiley’s “Go Dig My Grave,” and now along comes Lindi Ortega with a record that’s even spookier. The production on “The Ghost of You,” with its programmed drum loops and use of “found” sounds, couldn’t be farther removed from Smiley’s track, but it’s no less purposeful and smart. Ortega’s always had a flair for the cinematic, and the overall effect here is to create a truly unsettling vibe.
The song itself is terrific, too. It’s an immediate companion to Sinéad O’Connor’s tremendous “No Man’s Woman,” about a woman who is singing rapturously about being in love with– literally, perhaps?– a spirit. And anytime someone draws favorable comparisons to the late O’Connor, it’s an immediate A.
Kevin John Coyne: This is the coolest sounding record in my recent memory.
I am a bit in awe, really, of what Ortega pulled off here. The production is downright eerie, evoking genuine horror. We’re not talking silly Halloween sound effects here. This record is haunted, from the bump in the night percussion to Ortega’s otherworldly vocals. It sounds like she’s channeling a spirit as she wobbles out the hook.
By the time she referred to her astral plane lover as “my boo,” her spot on my year-end list was dead certain. A
“I’m Gonna Love You”
Cody Johnson and Carrie Underwood
Written by Kelly Archer, Chris Stevens, and Travis Denning
KJC: This is the best Carrie Underwood radio single in several years and maybe just the third or fourth best Cody Johnson single in the last two years.
It’s a credit to Johnson that he continues to select excellent material from outside writers, and what he and Underwood do on this track reminds me of the old adage from Patty Loveless: the job of the singer is to not get in the way of the song. I love that they kept the arrangement sparse to the end and that they trusted their subtle harmonies would reinforce the song’s message better than a thunderous sing-off.
I would’ve liked more fiddle and steel on the track, which would’ve made it feel more explicitly like a Cody Johnson record. There’s just enough pop sheen on this to lean Underwood, even though she sounds better with fiddle and steel, too.
So not quite as great as Johnson’s recent solo work, but so much better than Underwood’s previous superstar duet that it’s hard to believe that it’s the same singer on both records. B+
JK: I was prepared for this to be a “Tim and Faith” type single, on which two A-listers scream at each other about how lucky they are to be in love, over a treacly Adult Contemporary arrangement ready-made for a wedding dance.
Thankfully, this isn’t that. I’m pleasantly surprised, given that both Johnson and Underwood can be prone to bombast, by how understated this is.
As Kevin noted, this isn’t a patch on Johnson’s best recent work– there are far better songs still on-deck on Leather– but it is a significant step up from the singles from Underwood’s last two albums. Their vocal tones blend together beautifully, and the restraint in their performances keeps the focus on the relationship they’re singing about. With a stronger melody in the chorus, this would be even better, but it’s solid enough for what it is. B
“Human Touch”
Kathleen Edwards feat. Bahamas
Written by Bruce Springsteen
KJC: The tempo change cover has been so prevalent for so long that it usually feels hacky, like the act is taking a shortcut to differentiate a cover from the original.
But when it is done with intentionality and a fresh emotional perspective, the result can still be gratifying.
“Human Touch” has always been one of my favorite Springsteen songs. I am a nineties child at heart. The original record has a weary resilience derived from a deeper Springsteen vocal and a plodding methodical beat.
Kathleen Edwards transforms it into a record of peaceful intimacy, as if we are already being embraced by that human touch. Springsteen’s “Human Touch” says, “This road is hard. Travel with me and we’ll find comfort as we go.” Edwards’ says, “Stay with me and rest. The journey is over and tomorrow is a brand new day.”
Bahamas’ delicate support adds yet another layer of warmth to a downright cozy little record. One of those rare covers that adds something new to a familiar song while evoking deep fondness for the original recording. Two beautiful bookends, old and new. A
JK: I don’t have the same fondness for Springsteen’s original recording of this one that Kevin does, and I don’t get the impression that it’s a song that’s held much sway in his catalog over time.
But I love what Edwards– and producer Jason Isbell– do with the song here. The intimacy of the arrangement highlights how the lyrics are fully of a piece with Edwards’ own style: She’s always foregrounded humanism as a philosophy, but she’s not averse to the occasional bit of sarcasm or a clever wordplay. I’d not appreciated some of the rhymes here until hearing Edwards deliver them. Bahamas’ Afie Jurvanen’s harmony vocals are lovely, too.
I don’t know that it fully works to have him take some of the lines in the chorus as a proper duet, but that’s such a minor quibble on a record that’s never less than lovely. Edwards has done the “slowed down, acoustic cover” thing before– check her rendition of Roxette’s “It Must Have Been Love”– but never as effectively as she does here. A
“Halfway to Heaven”
Midland
Written by Jess Carson
KJC: Midland getting dismissed as posers early on still baffles me. Their sound is as Smooth 70’s as their clothing.
And that’s a compliment, to be clear. There’s a warmth to seventies country – and pop and rock, for that matter – that got lost in the go getter eighties.
“Halfway to Heaven” is mellow, y’all. The picking is as loose as the singing, as if they’re slow dancing in the studio as they sing and play. You get the feeling that they’re only halfway to heaven because they’re taking the loooong way. B+
JK: I’m on record as thinking Barely Blue is a terrific album, and that it’s Dave Cobb’s best production work in ages. “Halfway to Heaven” would not necessarily have been one of the tracks I’d have selected as a radio single, especially given how radio has turned on Midland. But, fully on its own merits and without considering the fickle and problematic whims of country radio, it’s pretty great.
As Kevin commented, this goes for a 70s country vibe at a time when most everyone else is still mining the 90s for their points of reference. It’s telling, really, that the nostalgia train skipped over the production choices that were popular in the 80s. Aesthetically, this works well for Midland, who deserved better than they got right from the jump and who have continued to refine their craft. A-
Other than Just To Hear You Say That You Love Me, which Tim and Faith duet is them screaming at each other about how much they love each other over a treacly AC track?
I’d include “It’s Your Love” and “Let’s Make Love” in there, too. Those and the hit you mentioned were the big three hit collaborations that came first, so I can understand how it shaped that perception.
Most of their billed duets were just harmony vocals anyway, but I think “I Need You” was their best duet. They sound so much better when they’re not doing the pop sing-off bit.