From the minute I heard Royal Blue, I couldn’t help be reminded of Lydia Loveless. Both seem to encapsulate the conflict a woman has been brashness and vulnerability. While Hiatt is also steeped in the world of twang, it seemed to veer from that outlaw, bad girl sound that Loveless perfected on Somewhere Else. A few listens in and then you start to recognize the synths more and realize that the daughter of John Prine has taken as much influence from 80s synth as she has from Nashville twang.
I wasn’t hip to Hiatt’s last album, Led Down, and in hindsight I am glad I wasn’t. I have to say if I was and had seen that Royal Blue was going to feature synths I would have been less than enthusiastic. But they are far overwhelming and really add something to music.
Most of the songs deal with a story of broken love. From what I can tell, the songs aren’t auto-biographical as they seem to be short vignettes with different protagonists. One of my favorites is Jesus Would’ve Let Me Pick The Restaurant, a track of a woman tiring of her man’s overly religious ways and hitting the road. Your Choice puts the woman in the role of the heartbroken. Like many before and many since, she wishes for her ex to think of her at every turn of the day. She has a resolute toughness as she croons, “I’d rather throw a punch than bat an eye.”
Royal Blue is quality playing, writing and execution. I love how she’s taken the classic country sound and added a couple of flourishes to make her own flavor.
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Lilly Hiatt is here
