Lauren Jane – Releases New Album – Wildfire – for 2020
Lauren Jane, the Liverpool singer- songwriter who has been making small waves in the UK country music scene since 2015, released her first full 10 track album on Friday 24th April. Lauren Jane has taken her acoustic sound and crisp vocals into the studios with producer Justin Johnson and crafted a knock-out album for you to enjoy.
Opening with her anthem to the UK Country music scene, “Tennessee Tonight”, Lauren tells how country music comes from the heart wherever you might be. The up-tempo honky tonk track has a retro country feel with a Crystal Gayle vibe. It is the classic tale of a singer wanting to make it to and in Nashville but adds the reality of modern times where we have a burgeoning UK country and Americana scene right here at home.
“I’ll dream big and dream in colour … the grass ain’t greener, I dream of English summer”
The rest of the album takes us on the familiar storytelling and emotional roller coaster of the human experience as we negotiate relationships.
- New relationships – tentatively, with complications or by diving in – “Dance with Me”, “Coffee” and “Boots at the Backdoor”.
- The break ups – always messy and painful in different ways – “If I was Whiskey”, “The Other Side” and the title track “Wildfire”
- The lows of leaving or feeling alone – “Half a Heart” and “Hurricane” and
- Never getting closure with “I Run to You”.
A good mix of up-tempo and Lauren’s familiar ballads, these songs have been written over the last 5 years and finally brought together here. Lauren admits she was influenced by artists such as Cam and Catherine McGrath as well as her own life journey during this time. In typical Lauren style there are lots of beautiful and lyrically fine moments –
from “Wildfire”
“sparks dance like fireflies and the flames went wild, I loved you but I couldn’t watch you burn, I guess you live and you learn, the flames grew higher, we were wildfire”
and from “The Other Side”
“on the other side of the bed where you lay at night, there was always someone else taking up your mind, on the other side of the bed I was always yours but you were never mine, on the other side”
Fans of Lauren would have heard these acoustic numbers many times over the years, but the fuller sound of the band and Justin Johnson’s Nashville style production will bring something new for all to enjoy. The newest song on the album and Lauren’s own favourite is “Boots at the Back Door” with a contemporary sound and superb guitar solo.
Recorded and produced between the Parr Street Studio, Liverpool and Beck View Studio, Scalby, with a great team of supporting musicians, Lauren’s album Wildfire definitely has something for everyone.
Review written by Ann Kenney (twitter.com/annkenneysongs)
