Reviewed by Tony Cummings

The Guardian newspaper called this latest release from the megastar "precision-tooled country with a soupcon of sad" and as it turns out the review says more about the reviewer's leftie hipster prejudices than it does about this beautifully crafted album. The difficulty for that reviewer and indeed for others still looking for "authenticity" in their country music is that they've never come to terms with the fact that today Carrie's lavishly produced efforts are a thousand miles from the original country roots. But no matter, this album is cram-full of surprisingly honest songs and sometimes complicated concepts. The title track is of course a gem you're currently hearing on Cross Rhythms radio and when one listens to the songs "That Song That We Used To Make Love To" next to her powerful "Backsliding" one wonders whether there's a connection in the two themes. If there are any country purists still listening to Carrie, they should check out her "Ghosts On The Stereo" which namechecks Hank Williams, Merle Haggard and George Jones while "The Bullet" portrays a tragic shooting over some lilting acoustic guitar. The lyrics on this one are particularly affecting, "You can blame it on hate or you can blame it on guns/But mamas ain't supposed to bury their sons." Equally powerful is the anthemic "Love Wins" ("Politics and prejudice/How the hell did it ever come to this?"). The closer "Kingdom" clearly speaks of the Kingdom of God and all in all, this sixth album from Carrie could be her best so far.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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