Rough and tumble New Hampshire country and western artist Jennifer Mitchell just released her gritty, flinty album Still I Rise. Loaded with true country feeling and idioms, Mitchell makes her country strong.
Opening cut “The Red Pick Song (Ride Or Die)” finds the Granite State country lady singing with a seriously good timbre for this honky tonk genre. A bit of a rasp makes her heartfelt lyrics come off like a cross between sincere and deadly serious. This homage to her late father gets a sturdy accompaniment from her acoustic six string.
“Oh Love” lets Mitchell is another that shows what she can weave with her acoustic six string. She plays an interval of notes before creating a drop down feeling by picking them with a slightly different accent. The listener can feel the melody ushering him along with her tender words and her considerately paced vocal. Her sustains and her ripples of acoustic notes help this song reach the listener’s heart while impressing with its considerate pacing.
“The Hunger” gets its rivulet of rhythmic acoustic guitar notes from Mitchell. A lead acoustic guitar played by Rob Scanlan creates a higher, pretty melody line, one that just kisses the rest of the action in this song. The two pronged acoustic guitar approach gives this piece a thick wedge of emotive force and a purposeful musical integrity.
Title track “Still I Rise” gives Mitchell enough space to assert each lyrical line with a sensitive pause between each. This creates a climbing effect, a motion that her voice travels ruggedly through the rugged terrain this song is about. Her sustains are pure honky tonk joy, raspy, country, and seriously maintained. Mitchell stays perfectly within each meter even though it feels her voice is moving beyond any frameworks. Her voice just rides the rails of her rhythm acoustic and Scanlan’s free, pretty as a songbird melody line.
Full band number “Check Liver Light” celebrates the mellow groove of drinking establishments. Mitchell’s lilting harmonica line sashays its merry way as Scanlan’s lead guitar cuts loose and ups the honky tonk ante. His melodic phrase tap dances around the groove and colors the song just right. Rhythm section men Blaine Patrick and Mark Rich leave plenty of space for the upper registers to grease their lines.
Mitchell and her support players finesse an edgy, up tempo arrangement of “These Boots Are Made For Walking.” Mitchell sings this rendition with plenty of gusto, sass, and country aplomb. It’s a treat to hear this tough mama conclude a lyrical line just before the descending groove. Scanlan injects a feisty take on the main melody line and every element comes together with an attitude and energy that just can’t be beat.
Co-written with Charmaine Last and sung as a duet with drummer Mark Rich, “Feels Like Home” is one of those tender mid tempo songs that the listener just can’t get enough of. Mitchell and Rich let loose their larger than life vocals over an expansive Rob Scanlan melodic bliss.
Closing track “The Price Of Being Brave” chronicles the story of ones who give all to keep the rest of us safe and secure. Mitchell’s tender rendering of her thoughtful lyrics over her sensitive acoustic guitar line hits the listener’s soft spot without sinking into maudlin sentiment.
Mitchell accomplishes a lot within the eight tracks on this Still I Rise album. The gritty resolve in the lyrics, Mitchell’s willingness to meet life head on and offer emotionally honest accounts, makes for a serious listen. That Mitchell uses true country music idioms and a feisty style of expression is another big plus. This is one of the best local country albums to come out of New England this year. Recorded, mixed, and mastered at nhtunes.biz it also sound good too.
