Review Summary: Price strays further from country for the better, fully embracing the influence of Nix and Petty.
Margo Price is the story that country music is made of. From the very beginning where her family lost its farm in the Farm Crisis of the 1980s to her experiencing homelessness to her discovery by Jack White after she pawned off her wedding ring to record her first LP. Any period of her life could be the subject of a fictional storytelling song in the genre, but it is instead the experience that has created her music. With that being said,
That’s How Rumors Get Started is the furthest that Price has strayed from country since her 2017 debut. Her newest draws clear influences from past stars such as Tom Petty and Stevie Nix, trending more in the direction of Americana with organs and gospel choirs than country with mandolin and steel guitar. Even though Price’s influences are clear,
That’s How Rumours Get Started Price is still clearly her own artist.
Right from the opening keys of the opening title track, the atmosphere is set for the rest of the album. Driven largely by a soulful piano line, the song is a deceptively simple understated affair. Price’s voice is the focal point as the piano playfully plays around her, with some backing vocals and simple percussion and rhythm guitar. The pleasant but not overbearing twang in Price's voice blends right into the mid-tempo Southern not-quite rocker. The following track “Letting Me Down” shows the other side of the album, a more upbeat rock number with a driving beat, but still holds the formula that makes the title track (and rest of the album just as successful). Margo’s voice, piano accompaniment, a heavier emphasis on the guitar and the kit - With the rare exception, that’s the blueprint the album follows. It's almost refreshing to not hear experimenting or anything that tries to make the album special or unique - It’s simply some masterful songwriting, talented musicians in a backing band, and some pristine production by Sturgill Simpson.
The album does stray from this winning formula twice, to wildly varying success. “Twinkle Twinkle” has a driving guitar line, also reminiscent of some rock bands from the height of Nix’s and Petty’s success, but just doesn’t hit. The guitar line is more jarring and grating than energizing and the vocal melody line just does not hit. It’s a shame, because it is one of the tracks where Price gets political, which she is always good for at least a few times, but the message of reflecting on what “the good old days” really were becomes muddled in the production. On the other end of the spectrum is “Heartless Mind”, which has much more in common with 80s nu-wave than it does with Price’s past work. The high-pitched synth and pulsing beat are a fitting backdrop for Price’s voice, all while still managing to fit in an organ and that backing gospel-esque choirs. It’s a necessary and successful change of pace, as well as a unique genre merge.
As mentioned above, Margo’s story lends itself to the lyrical styling of the genre and
That’s How Rumors Get Started does not disappoint in that field. Closing track “I’d Die For You” is a standout for a number of reasons, lyrics chief among them. The description of a dying town could represent the rural areas that Price is originally from or the cities that she now finds herself in. It also represents the best vocal performance of her career, building into a crescendo that finds hope in the pain, a recurring theme for Price.
That’s How Rumors Get Started still doesn’t fulfill the immense potential that Price holds, but her (somewhat) recreation of her sound shows that she is willing to grow as an artist. The entire album straddles the precipice of potential, but “I’d Die For You” truly shows that the next Stevie Nix is still potentially in our midst.
