It’s been a busy year for back-to-back CCMA Female Artist of the Year and 18x CMA Ontario award-winning country artist Meghan Patrick. She made her Opry debut recently (you can read our interview with her about that & more here) and now she has has released her brand new, 6 track EP ‘Greatest Show on Dirt’. It feels like gears are grinding with this talented and impactful artist after a couple of years of frustration.
Listening to the six tracks on offer here you can hear the confidence and energy that Meghan Patrick has for her music after a couple of frustrating years with the pandemic and record label issues. Her zest and zeal can be heard all over tracks like ‘She’s No Good For Me’ and ‘Ours’. The former is an honest and raw song in which she holds a mirror up to herself and realises she can do better. Firstly, what a difficult and brave thing this is to do but then, secondly, to open up your findings in the format of a song? That, there, is Country music, folks! ‘She’s No Good For Me’ is sweepingly anthemic & driven by passion and pounding drums. The denouement that Patrick is ‘still learning to love’ the person that she is is also revealingly honest too. ‘Ours’, meanwhile, is all chugging guitars and insistent drums that underpin an atmospheric, melodic post-relationship song about that moment your ex brings his new girl to ‘your’ bar. ‘Y’all couldn’t go somewhere else?’ Patrick asks as the song explodes all the over the place with huge vocals and Rock-leaning guitars.
Although recently married to fellow Country artist, Mitchell Tenpenny, Patrick has clearly come up against the vagaries of male behaviour as a number of songs on ‘Greatest Show on Dirt’, including the title track itself, pertain to that. On ‘Who Would I Be?’ Patrick is confused and looking for clarity in a clever, relatable song. ‘If you were writing the story, who would I be?’ she asks. ‘I’ve got questions because my heart is falling hard…..do I make it to your ending?’ There’s some great storytelling and clever analogies going on in this song that make it intriguing addictive to listen to. ‘Truck Breaks Down’, meanwhile, a more acoustic-leaning song with a hint of banjo going on underneath explodes in an angst-ridden chorus where Patrick hopes that the guy who’s left doesn’t come back, because she doesn’t trust herself to make the right decision if he does. Another anthemic chorus and some deft, skilful songwriting draw you in to the narrative of this song whilst the title track, ‘Greatest Show on Dirt’ finds Patrick remonstrating with herself about ‘falling for his act’ on a song where she calls out fake and unreasonable behaviour. More clever lyrics, plaintive guitars and relatable storytelling elevate this song above the hundreds of others that have come before it on this theme and the hint of gravel in Patrick’s vocals give the song a real Sheryl Crow sheen too.
The EP closes with ‘Red Roses & Red Flags’, one of the two songs Patrick chose to play on her recent Opry debut. This is a gravel-throated, Western-tinged epic about male behaviour and the disregard that many men have for anyone’s feelings but their own. Think Carrie Underwood and Bon Jovi’s ‘Wanted: Dead or Alive’ for the touchstones here with maybe a hint of that fiery Miranda Lambert spirit thrown in for good measure. ‘All I see is another empty apology,’ Patrick bemoans, ‘I’ve already packed my bags, I’ll be gone in half an hour because these red roses might as well be red flags.’
It’s never easy for Canadians to break down Nashville’s often insular walls and expectations. They often have to work twice as hard to prove their credentials but with ‘Greatest Show on Dirt’ Meghan Patrick has put everything she has out on display and it’s clearly more than what most aspiring musicians in Nashville have to offer. Powerful vocals, intelligent, relatable lyrics and impactful storytelling is the story of ‘Greatest Show on Dirt’. Her gravel-throated vocals are dripping in both power and passion and her experience brings with it a more nuanced and impactful viewpoint in what she has to say. It’s time for Nashville and the wider Country music communities in both the USA and other global markets to stand up and take notice of this talented artist.
Tracklist: 1. She’s No Good For Me 2. Ours 3. Truck Breaks Down 4. Greatest Show on Earth 5. Who Would I Be 6. Red Roses & Red Flags Record Label: Riser House Release Day: May 5th Buy ‘Greatest Show on Dirt’ now
