Lori McKenna's "The Bird & the Rifle" is a Lesson in Songwriting

If there is one thing that's good about modern mainstream country, it's that songwriters are probably more well-known than they've ever been in the genre's history. Some are well-known because they're idiots, like Dallas Davidson, while others like Lori McKenna have garnered praise and respect for recent #1 singles like Little Big Town's "Girl Crush" and Tim McGraw's "Humble and Kind." While I'm no fan of "Girl Crush" (which may have more to do with the horribly irritating Little Big Town than the song itself), "Humble and Kind" is an excellent song that thankfully reached #1 on country radio. 

Despite radio play when her songs are recorded by other artists, don't expect to hear Lori McKenna on your mainstream country station any time soon. It'd be absolutely startling and wonderful to hear one of her songs played between Jason Aldean's most recent atrocity and whatever random sequence of words that Florida Georgia Line is throwing together these days, but I will be honest and say that I don't expect it to happen. McKenna fits more into the Americana realm, and most artists would prefer that their peers be wonderfully talented people like Jason Isbell as opposed to the aforementioned goon squad of Aldean and FGL. Thankfully, Americana is where The Bird & the Rifle finds its home.

This album has so many strengths that I'll get the one minor weak spot out of the way--McKenna is a capable vocalist, but she's not going to partake in any vocal acrobatics or hit any crazy high notes. At the same time, it doesn't seem like a weakness because she sings with such conviction. Their voices don't sound even remotely alike, but McKenna reminds me very much of Chris Knight in that they both capture their material with overwhelming conviction in their voices. Whatever comes out of Lori McKenna's mouth, listeners will feel it.

Lyrically, The Bird & the Rifle has one excellent line after another, and each song rings true to human experience, which is something I look for as a music fan. Album opener "Wreck You" has an excellent chorus that begins with "I don't know how to pull you back/I don't know how to pull you close/all I know is how to wreck you," as if to say, "when things go wrong, they just go wrong." The wonderful "Giving Up On Your Hometown" has perhaps the most breathtaking line on the album: "It feels like even the ghosts are getting out/Giving up on your hometown." There's so much to be had from the lyrics that I think I'll allow listeners to enjoy the experience without any more spoilers.

As far as instrumental arrangements and production are concerned, McKenna and producer Dave Cobb do a nice job of making sure everything compliments the overwhelming and powerful lyrics. Most of the time, that called for sparse instrumentation, mostly chord patterns backed by light percussion. There are some accenting instruments here and there that definitely add something, but The Bird & The Rifle is a songwriter's record first and foremost, as enjoyable with just a guitar and microphone as it would be with an expanded band. In the music industry, Dave Cobb understands that bells and whistles more often than not are used to mask sub-par material, and that is perhaps the main reason he's currently the most respected producer in country and Americana. Paired with McKenna's excellent lyrics, Cobb's production made each song better and played a huge role in making The Bird & the Rifle one of the best albums to be released so far in 2016. 9/10

Standout songs:
"Wreck You"
"The Bird & the Rifle"
"Giving Up On Your Hometown"
"Humble & Kind"
"All These Things"