When it comes to Country Music, I have always gravitated toward female artists and not for physical looks wise, I cannot really give tons of reasons why but off the cuff, I would say because they have been writing better songs lately to me. These are all just my opinions and not meant to be taken out of context for other people. We All like different music, and that’s OK. In my world, “Coat of Many Colors” and “Coal Miner’s Daughter”resonated more with me than any male artist I could think of other than Hank Williams.
I was turned onto the Oklahoma based young lady’s debut album from Krislyn Arthurs, and from the get go I thought her name defiantly set her apart from other female artists that are being pumped out of mainstream country with the same names, and lucky for her she doesn’t desire to steer in that direction. This album is definitely marketed for the lovers of the indie and outlaw type stuff, with soul crushing lyrics and on April 24th, it will bust your balls.
Anybody that reads this knows I am a recovered alcoholic and heroin/pill addict of 6 years now, I related very well with her back story that opens this album with a song called “Shinin”, where she writes about her family’s moonshine operation in Oklahoma. All of the songs on the album were written by her own autobiography she says. This album was produced by LG Hamilton and Steven Jeffery. I know all too well the life of being wasted and how fun it was when I was young.
She said that this album was ten years in the making, and it is entirely evident that she indeed works her road band insanely hard to bring these tales of misery and whiskey soaked memories to folks every night. Traveling all over the area with her husband and her band, she has been paying her dues for a long time now.
All of the songs are relatable like “Pretty Good” at bad decisions, and the title track “Honky Tonk PhD” which both turned me onto remembering the days of my own youth and how many things I would have changed as I look back. You sit and think “OK Let’s watch this young lady and see if she does indeed learn from past collisions in the future”, but then I listen to songs like “Trauma” and I think…she may already have. This album is a damn good story to me.
I am a father and my daughter is 30 and the song “Daddy Tried” REALLY spoke to me, because I also WAS that punk ass kid my girlfriend’s dad warned HER about…..ain’t no surprise any of us got burned Krislyn. When boys grow up to be true men, the songs these women sing in today’s Country hit harder than any physical pain life can throw at them. You think to yourself “You destroyed that girl with your bullshit” and you can’t take that back. Remember that next time you might want to go ‘Psycho”. THAT to me is what a Honky tonk PhD is about. Redemption. Growth. This album has it.
This album does end in a peaceful demeanor for me and tells me that she just wants to remain up on the stage telling stories of that old life that she choses to refrain from. I look forward to remaining a fan of hers, and I hope to hear more albums in the future.
Track List:
- Shinin
- Pretty Good
- Psycho
- Clean Hands, Dirty Money
- The Sin
- Daddy Tried
- Missin Man
- Double Wide
- Trauma
- Honky Tonk PhD
