Album Review: Margo Price - ‘Hard Headed Woman’
Margot Price truly compels with her heartfelt tales on latest album ‘Hard Headed Woman’.
Country music is having something of a renaissance. With Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter album and tour, and US Country stars Morgan Wallen and Zach Bryan selling out multiple nights at London’s Hyde Park this Summer, the genre is clearly gaining in popularity in the UK. Perfect timing then for Nashville’s Margot Price’s new album ‘Hard Headed Woman’.
‘Hard Headed Woman’ is an apt album title choice from one of the most passionate and vocal artists in country music. Margot is known for standing up for political and personal causes, from the presidential election, abortion to gun control, she is self proclaimedly hard headed in the fight for equality and justice. Margot has spoken about how the growing appeal of country music goes hand in hand with the uncertainty we are facing, “Country music being popular at the moment- maybe it’s a sign of the times and the political climate”.
Since the rehearse of her much lauded debut album ‘Midwest Farmer’s Daughter’ almost ten years ago Margot has been nothing short of prolific. She’s released a further four records, played Saturday Night Live, been nominated for a Grammy, and toured the world alongside artists such as Chris Stapleton and Willie Nelson, alongside writing her memoir and becoming an in-demand producer.
Her new album sees her in a more reflective and peaceful space, reflecting changes in her lifestyle. In preparation for the album she started spending more time at home, writing songs alone and even popping up the dive bars around her home town Nashville. This allowed her to focus on her songwriting, as she says “There’s all this pressure to be pumping out content, and I felt the opposite in the way I wanted to approach this record and my life in general”.
With its irresistibly upbeat vibe the album’s second track ‘Don’t Let the Bastards Grind You Down’ is a Dolly Parton- esque ode to remaining optimistic in the face adversity. As Price put it herself: “I always hope to do like Johnny Cash did, which is speak up for the common man and woman”. In terms of the inspiration behind the song’s title and message, Price candidly described in a lively Q & A in the build up to the album release with her trademark enthusiasm that the name of the track was inspired by and a direct quote of what Kris Kristofferson whispered into, another famously hard headed woman, Sinead O’Connor’s ear when she was booed on stage at a Bob Dylan anniversary concert. She showcases her lyrical genius with the deliciously crafted lyric: ‘All the cocaine in existence couldn’t keep your nose out of my business’, superbly evoking a cutting commentary on the politics of the music industry.
On the recent single ‘Losing Streak’, the lyrics are tinged with tragedy, such as: ‘I couldn’t see the picture in the bottom of the bottle’. These are juxtaposed exquisitely with the upbeat, soaring guitar, creating a hugely compelling storytelling effect that Margo Price has cultivated and crafted expertly. Arguably honed by many of the country greats, this devastatingly deceptive technique is what marks her out on the country scene and makes her stories so painfully relatable. Speaking about her vision with ‘Hard Headed Wonan’, Price described in an interview on the Broken Record podcast, she “Really wanted to get back to raw, stripped back storytelling”.
With her fast, mesmerising lyrical delivery and the irresistible Western style guitar layered over Price’s poetic verse: ‘Don’t wake me up, I ain’t up for that, The way this world is going, ain’t where I’m at, And sooner or later we’ll all be dead, I’d rather be living it up in my head’, on ‘Don’t Wake Me Up’, Price captures the essence of a need to escape in the maddening modern world in a song that epitomises her consistent uncanny knack of striking a chord with an album rich with soul searching country gems.
Words by Brendan Sharp
