Brandy Clark- Brandy Clark
Label: Warner
Producer: Brandi Carlile
With the release of her titular fourth studio album, Brandy Clark continues to build one of the most rewarding and thoughtful bodies of music across the entire spectrum of American music. With the assignment of fellow Americana stalwart Brandi Carlile in the producer’s chair, the album also finds Clark edging even further back to the formative singer-songwriter trappings of her acclaimed 2013 debut, after a pair of albums with the great Jay Joyce found her just so subtly dabbling with broader strokes of contemporary country and pop. The sonics of a Brandy Clark album have always been the icing however, with the true center being the candidly personal and often comedically dark story songs she weaves, and that’s never been truer than on Brandy Clark, not to mention her warm, inviting, and remarkably pure vocals. The set opens with Clark adding to country music’s storied pantheon of domestic abuse-murder twofers with “Ain’t Enough Rocks”, which features a spooky Derek Trucks guitar solo that ups the treacherous heights of the song considerably. When it’s followed by a track called “Buried”, one might expect the homicidal nature to continue, only for Clark to unveil a wrenchingly tender ballad that plays like a vow to keep one’s hidden affection for an unavailable lover a secret until she dies. These are the kind of sly twists and turns that define a Brandy Clark record, and unflinchingly keep the listener curiously hooked. Carlile’s well-established taste as a producer is gracefully etched throughout the record, but only to further enhance Clark’s own strengths, not distract from them. Though there’s no denying that she can’t help but elevate the proceedings when her own distinct vocal magic appears, whether it be on a full-on duet with the beautiful “Dear Insecurity”, or as a haunting backing vocalist on great cuts like the Heartland-leaning “Northwest” or the delicate “Up Above the Clouds (Cecilia’s Song)”. Perhaps the greatest highlight of the record arrives though when Clark unleashes what could have easily been Track 13 on 12 Stories with the grandmother tribute, “She Smoked in the House”, a heartwarming and amusing ode that reminds us that she’s one of the true descendants of the grand John Prine tradition, with her ability to make us laugh and weep in one fell swoop.
Track Listing:
- “Ain’t Enough Rocks” featuring Derek Trucks (Brandy Clark, Jessi Jo Dillon, Jimmy Robbins)
- “Buried” (Clark, Dillon)
- “Tell Her You Don’t Love Her” featuring Lucius (Clark, Landon Pigg, Emily Weisband)
- “Dear Insecurity” featuring Brandi Carlile (Clark, Michael Pollack)
- “Come Back to Me” (Clark, Shane McAnally, Trevor Rosen)
- “Northwest” (Clark, Dillon)
- “She Smoked In the House” (Clark)
- “Up Above the Clouds (Cecelia’s Song)” (Clark, Dillon, Robbins)
- “All Over Again” (Clark, Pollack)
- “Best Ones” (Clark, Benjy Davis, Dillon)
- “Take Mine” (Clark, Lucie Silvas, Jeff Trott)
The 706 
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