Poppy herself will say she
has had “a year like no other”. No, not
another reference to the dreaded C***d, but some pretty big issues in her own
life. She has been through the country
music staple – a break up - had some professional challenges, oh, and she had
some surgery. On her brain.
It would be perfectly
understandable if Poppy had gently eased back into the real world, maybe a little
performance here and there, but Poppy being Poppy she has spent the year
smashing out festival shows (notably Buckle and Boots and Country In The
Afternoon) alongside other live dates and releasing five – count them, five –
singles. Enough for most people? Nah – lets release a ten-track album just to
round off the year!
And so we find ourselves
with a review copy of Back On My Feet – no need to guess where she got
the inspiration for that title!
With the number of singles recently released, the album is half and half – five previously released singles and five “new” tracks – although all ten are in reality new! The album opens with the pop influenced All Over Again followed by the equally up-tempo Double Denim. To call these tracks “pop country” is technically accurate but also a little unfair. They are certainly more up tempo than many UK offerings and embrace the commercial country style but bubble gum pop they certainly aren’t. The lyrics and storytelling are pure Country. Hometown Hero takes the pace down a little, brings in a more classic country sound with the addition of steel and a slow drumbeat punctuating the melody. Good Girl and Beer Budget will be familiar if you have been following Poppy with the latter being singled out for praise by Nashville based artists and fans. Good Girl is pacy, Beer Budget less so but sounds for all the world like a festival anthem in waiting. Keyboard and Poppy’s superb voice come to the fore in Drive which also features friend and fellow performer Tim Prottey Jones. A near ballad, the plaintive song combines the two voices beautifully and is as good as any duet coming out of Nashville in recent years.
Little Girl is advice for “if I ever had a
little girl”. It’s another shift in
tempo and style, the instrumentation is fabulous, the mandolin really adding to
the emotion portrayed in Poppy’s singing and very mature sound. Getaway Car yearns for summer nights
and driving with the rooftop down alongside your “ride or die” best friend singing
along to the promise of lifelong friendship or at least lifelong adventures! This
whole album isn’t just ten songs thrown together, the order of the tracks is
spot on with tempo changes and songs that highlight the country roots, Poppy’s
voice and the instrumentation. You go
from toe tapping to sipping your drink reflectively to dancing around the room
from one track to another! Dear You
will have you pouring yourself a drink and wanting to hug someone close to you
as you read the letter that the storyteller is writing to a lost love. The final track on the album is the most
recent single Background Picture which is also about a previous love,
but dealt with in a very upbeat way. The
contrast between the two songs goes to show the incredible range of Poppy’s song
writing ability and demonstrates just how well she straddles the divide between
the UK and US Country styles.
Poppy refers to the album as
a “body of work” and she is absolutely right to do so. Each of these ten tracks could be a single in
its own right, and to pick just one as a standout track would be practically impossible. Listen to this album more than once, and you
will pick a different favourite each time, depending on your mood, whether you
want a dance or to chill.
This year may have been a
tough one for Poppy Fardell, but by releasing her singles and now this album
she is certainly ending it on a high.
Next year? Well, let's just wait
and see what she comes up with next – which should include more festival
appearances and awards alongside recording success.
Back On My Feet, the new album from Poppy Fardell is available to download or stream from Friday 9 December.
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