Brandy Clark Exposes Small Town Skeletons

Brandy Clark is known for her sharp wit and mature perspective. Admittedly, her debut album 12 Stories was not a record that I dove into headfirst. I had heard a few selections, but I wasn't too invested in Clark until I saw her perform "Hold My Hand" with Dwight Yoakam at the 2015 Grammy Awards. It was refreshing to see country music represented by, well, country music. Fast forward a year or so to June 10th of 2016 and Big Day in a Small Town hit the shelves.

"Soap Opera" gets things started and it all but sums up the recurring theme on the record. Discussing small town drama spurred by bored people who wave and smile in public but don't hold back any of their baseless criticism behind the scenes, "Soap Opera" addresses a very real problem in rural America. Next in line is the lead single, "Girl Next Door," and I'd rather not rant about one bad song on album that is otherwise very solid. It's one moment that panders for radio play. Deselect it if you're going to buy a digital copy of this album. 

"Homecoming Queen" stops time at track 3, capturing the story of somebody who meets the harsh reality of life after popularity in their youth. It is without a doubt one of the stronger songs on Big Day in the Small Town. Up next is "Broke," which is chock full of great lines referring to being perpetually short on cash in a place where work options aren't always the most high-paying. The narrator seems to find peace with the reality in "Broke," which is something I think is observable in small town life. 

"You Can Come Over" follows and is a hard-hitting portrayal of an on-and-off relationship between friends, culminating in this final line from the chorus--"You can come over, but you can't come in." Without a doubt, "You Can Come Over" is another standout song. At track 6 is "Love Can Go to Hell," a song that uses a nice double meaning in the title to talk about the ways that things go wrong, and ends with the narrator disenchanted with the whole idea.

Next is another standout in "Three Kids No Husband." The song details the struggles of a single mother working multiple jobs to try to keep up with bills. Clark's expertise as a composer and lyricist are in full display on this wonderful song. "Daughter" and "Drinkin', Smokin', Cheatin'" come next and both are witty and fun, but are not standout tracks.

Without a doubt, Big Day in a Small Town closes out with its best song--"Since You've Gone to Heaven." Written by Clark and Shane McAnally, "Since You've Gone to Heaven" focuses on the way a family can disintegrate after the death of a loved one, particularly the individual who seemed to draw everybody together. The narrator discusses her father's death, saying, "Since you've gone to heaven, the whole world's gone to hell." 

It goes without saying that Brandy Clark really excels with more emotional material. Very few artists release albums that are mostly bleak--even Jason Isbell's Southeastern kicked the rock 'n' roll up a few notches on a handful of songs in order to avoid monotony. Clark does an adequate job with upbeat material, but it's not up to par when compared to her more emotional songs, which knocks this album down a few notches, for me. Overall, Big Day in a Small Town is still a solid release from a very talented singer/songwriter. 7/10