Margo Price is a maverick. A trailblazer. An authentic and singular voice in a country music world that is increasingly formulaic and devoid of honest songwriting.
She's been that way since her 2016 debut, Midwest Farmer's Daughter, announced her as one of modern country's most important voices. She shows no signs of stopping on her vivid and from-the-heart new album, Hard Headed Woman.
Her fifth studio release, the album reunites Price with producer and engineer Matt Ross-Spang. The pair worked together on her debut and its 2017 follow up, All American Made. The new songs draw from a similar palette of outlaw and classic country as those first two releases.
The album opens with a mission statement that explains what is coming better than my review could ever hope to do:
"I'm a hard headed woman and I don't owe you shit/ I ain't ashamed, I just am what I am/ And I'm high as the heavens/ I'm stubborn as hell/ I ain't ashamed, I'm just a hard headed woman."
"Prelude {Hard Headed Woman}" leads directly into the rollicking lead single, "Don't Let The Bastards Get You Down," a rallying cry inspired by Kris Kristofferson's support of Sinead O'Connor and co-written with Rodney Crowell.
Humor and seriousness have always gone hand in hand in Price's songwriting, and "all the cocaine in existence couldn't keep your nose out of my business" is the first of many hilarious lines on the album.
Things keep chugging right along with "Red Eye Flight," an on-the-road trucker anthem of a song in everything but the lyrics. Another Crowell collaboration, the song is sure to be a live show favorite.
Price's early days in Nashville, and struggles to break into a male-dominated country music scene, are detailed in "Losing Streak." References in the song to benders, breakdowns and being broke, paint a picture of an artist who had every opportunity to give up on their dreams but somehow persevered.
When All American Made arrived in 2017, it showcased an expanded vision of what country music could draw from, adding R&B, pop and more to her sound. Price continues that growth with a country-funk cover of George Jones' "I Just Don't Give A Damn." Soul horns from Memphis band The Bo-Keys give the song a Hi-Records-goes-country sound. The singer's delivery takes aim at an entire system, where the Jones original seemed solely directed at Tammy Wynette.
Price shines just as brightly during Hard Headed Woman's more subdued moments, like the Tyler Childers duet, "Love Me Like You Used To Do." With two of modern country's most interesting and bold voices, it is surprisingly one of the album's most traditional.
Tender, nostalgic and a little bit sad (a recipe for a great country song), it follows two lovers attempting to recapture the magic of their early days together.
Writing honestly and from the heart has always been the key to good country music, and it's why Hard Headed Women succeeds with whatever the country flavor Price is cooking with.
The album exits just as accurately as it enters with Waylon Jennings' "Kissing You Goodbye," and its iconic line, "Get your tongue out of my mouth, I'm kissing you goodbye."
Price was encouraged to include the song by Jennings wife Jessi Colter, herself one of the few women in outlaw country's first iteration in the '70s. Price definitely doesn't need the blessing of anyone to speak her truth, but the old guard's stamp of approval is a just another reminder that country music is in good hands with Margo Price.
Her first tour stop after the album's release is at Grand Rapids Riverfest on Sept. 6, alongside Courtney Barnett, Jeremie Albino and Alan Sparhawk. Her current band also features rising bluegrass and country guitarist, Logan Ledger. Tickets are still available.
Must listens
- "Don't Let The Bastards Get You Down"
- "Red Eye Flight"
- "Don't Wake Me Up (ft. Jesse Welles)"
- "Losing Streak"
- "I Just Don't Give A Damn"
- "Keep A Picture"
- "Love Me Like Used To Do"
- "Wild At Heart"
"Kissing You Goodbye"
