Despite being recorded during the depths of winter in Ontario with Canadian musician and producer Daniel Romano, the warmth and brilliance of McHone’s native Texan sunshine seeps from each and every note of Carson McHone’s third studio release, ‘Still Life’. Lead single ‘Hawks Don’t Share’ boasts a soft, bluesy soundscape, peppered with warm brass sections and a balmy summery hue that floats in and around the listener with ease. Leading the charge alongside it is the record’s title track, ‘Still Life’, which gently floats through wonderfully crafted lyrical friezes, artisitically sketching out images of a life that is at once both beautiful and static – locked in an impossible-to-break, glistening bubble. Therefore, it is important not to let the easy-going melodies fool you with this record – there is a great deal of depth and introspection simmering away beneath these temperate verses.
This remains true across much of ‘Still Life’. Sometimes the melancholy is more pronounced – the brooding ‘Spoil on the Vine’ being the most apt example. Yet at times, the emotion is also a touch brighter, such as on ‘Fingernail Moon’, which rocks, ebbs, and flows, with a soft, gleaming pop sensibility, evoking powerful images of gently crashing waves under moonlit skies. However, the crowning glory of the lot has to be the touchingly emotional ‘Sweet Magnolia’. Delicate as falling drops of rain, the vocals are brought all the way to the fore, allowing their gentle power to resonate yet more powerfully still.
However, this record is far from being a one-note wash of easy, comfortable melodies. Breaking away from her wheelhouse of pure, unadulterated Nashville soundscapes – most firmly established on her previous release, 2018’s ‘Carousel’ – McHone plays with instrumentation here that grows beyond the stereotypes of typical Americana. The funky horns and bluesy harmonies on ‘Only Lovers’ add a certain swagger and sway that lifts this track from pensive and soft to grinning danceability. Partnering it is the hugely poppy ‘Someone Else’. With a dash more zest, and the introduction of more traditional pop structures, tracks such as these hark back purely to the radio-ready folk rock of the 60s and 70s – indeed, McHone even dabbles with a touch of electric guitar over the lightly funky chorus, meaning comparisons to the likes of Fleetwood Mac are more than justified here.
In all, ‘Still Life’ is a record which can be consumed one of two ways, and is equally stunning in either one. If left tinkling away in the background of a quiet summer afternoon, it can simply be the perfect quiet soundtrack to relax and just breathe to. However, lyrically, the record carries along in its wake powerfully stark, introspective images of the tortured artist, as well as simply the tortured adult woman, staring you unapologetically in the face. Though it may be hiding coyly behind smooth melodies and gliding guitar tones, this is an incredibly challenging album – something all great music should be.
‘Still Life’ is due for release on the 25th of February, 2022 via Loose Records – pre-order the record here.
