A vocalist and songwriter with strong beliefs and little fear of adversity, Harper Grae is an artist who has channeled the memories of a difficult childhood into songs that have made her a celebrated talent in country music. Raised by her grandparents in rural Alabama, Grae had to deal with the harsh realities of parental failure throughout her early life and has channeled these experiences into her work on ‘The Glee Project' and on into projects like her debut album, ‘Break These Crowns' in 2017. Marriage and motherhood have only served to strengthen her convictions about sexuality, faith and tolerance and those stories and beliefs are writ large across new EP ‘Confessions of a Good Southern Lady'.
“If Martina McBride, Reba McEntire and Brandi Carlile had a child – that’s me,” says Grae, describing her sound and process but one listen to ‘Confessions…..' and I think you can throw Carrie Underwood into that mix now. There is a power-Pop-Country sensibility that carries echoes of Underwood's most dramatic and emotional songs running through Grae's new EP. That juxtaposition of strong melody, huge production and soaring vocals alongside the raw, honest and vulnerable nature of the lyrics is something of a surprise at first but after a couple of listens, as you really begin to dig into the stories and characters on the EP, the songs on offer here really burrow their way into your psyche and refuse to let go.
Opener, ‘Devil Worship, sets the tone fantastically, throwing you head first into Harper's world and life experiences. A piano-driven, impactful tale about Harper's attraction to another woman at a church group and the dichotomy of trying to resolve your sexuality with Christianity, ‘Devil Worship' would not be out of place on Carrie Underwood's ‘Storyteller' album. ‘We'll hide behind our sin,' Grae sings at one point, ‘The town will start to talk and we'll try to be more careful.' Soaring vocals and huge production make this track a real statement song from the off.
‘Confessions of Good Southern Lady' is full of Harper Grae's ongoing attempts to shine a light of the tough life decisions that people face. ‘The Joker', a song that was born out of her step-daughter's exclusion from her own mother's birthday party, is a superb power ballad: raw, vulnerable and painfully honest. ‘Lying is as easy to you as breathing is to me,' she sings here whilst ‘Diggin', which begins with a discordant piano before settling into a real slow-burner of a song, sees Grae exploring why Christianity seems to be so at odds with homosexuality, despite that word not being put into the bible until 1946. ‘Diggin' is a classic power ballad with sultry, southern overtones and arena-sized vocals that lives in your thoughts long after the last note has finished.
The songs already released from this project, ‘Dying on the Vine' and “I Think About You' both deal with longing. There's a nice banjo run and fiddle in the former that drives it forward whilst whilst the latter builds to a big, Mickey Guyton-esque crescendo as Grae sings about the triggers and images that provoke her to think about a past relationship, without actually wanting to have it back again.
Special mention must go to ‘Dead to Me', co-written with Joy Williams and Cam. This a track awash in Gospel harmonies and driven forward by a military drumbeat but the juxtaposition of the upbeat production and soaring vocals mixed with the raw and scathing nature of the lyrics takes a moment to get used to. Repeated listens really allow this gut-punch of a song to breath and come alive as Grae explores what it takes to move forward in a relationship, be it with another person or even an organisation or organised religion. It's a super-original song with some fantastic vocals from Grae towards the back end that really finishes it off in some style.
Rounding off ‘Confessions of a Good Southern Lady' we get the barn-storming ‘I Like Ya Like That', the most uptempo song on the project. A banjo-drum beginning builds to an inevitable explosion in the chorus on a song that wouldn't be sonically out of place on a Florida Georgia Line album. Some steamy, raunchy lyrics and a cracking banjo, guitar, fiddle solo brings ‘I Like Ya Like That' to life as Grae mixes the best of that classic modern Pop-Country sound with something altogether more Bluegrass on a song that will be a blast to play live.
First published in 1985, it was Florence King's classic memoir ‘Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady' that told of her upbringing in an eccentric Southern family. On ‘Confessions of a Good Southern Lady', Harper Grae riffs on those foundations but explores southern life in the context of her own experiences with her upbringing, her sexuality and her faith. No-one comes out of this project in a good light, aside from Grae herself, who is both an impactful lyricist and fantastic singer. She has managed to produce an EP that is both a joy to listen to, aurally, and also something worth analysing from a lyrical point of view too. You are instantly pulled into her world and her stories whilst also being given a set of songs that you could sing along to in the shower! That's a rare gift, that ability to sing your truths whilst also entertaining at the same time. This is an EP to be cherished and applauded in both its scope and ambitions and it will have you reaching for that hairbrush microphone too!
Tracklist: 1. Devil Worship 2. I Like it Like The 3. The Joker 4. Diggin' 5. Dying on the Vine 6. I Think About You 7. Dead to Me Record Label: Self produced Release Date: 13th May 2022 Purchase: Harper Grae ‘Confessions of a Good Southern Lady'
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