By Joshua Wallace
Rachel Brooke might be newer to some fans of more current traditional country music, but she has been around making good traditional country music for well over a decade now. Her last full length solo album was 2012’s A Killer’s Dream which was a personal highlight of 2012 for me. I highly recommend you seek that one out if you have not heard it. Rachel Brooke’s voice has a haunting quality to it and serves to add to the running theme of loneliness and the things that go with it. Let’s take a look at some of the tracks on this record.
The album kicks off with “It Ain’t Over Till You’re Crying”. From the haunting opening line through the slow waltz style track, this song sets a vibe for the record with a song about getting a measure of revenge on a former lover. The pedal steel is thick on this track and I dig that. Another favorite is “The Hard Way”. This is another slower ballad that features Rachel’s lower range that still has a bit of a haunting quality to it.
“The Loneliness In Me” picks up the pace a bit with some rocking guitar. I love songs that are upbeat but the lyrics are not. It creates a great juxtaposition where you’re rocking out to someone singing about everything going wrong but their loneliness is what gets them through. I love the conversational quality of the lyrics on this one. “Ghost Of You” is another great track with a haunting melody. It’s a song about how love sticks around because a lover’s ghost can linger after they’re gone. Finally, “The Awful Parts Of Me” has a really great retro string section that makes this track sound like something off 60’s country radio. It’s a twisted love song that fits in with the overall theme of this record perfectly.
Rachel Brooke has created a modern country throwback classic with a twisted lyrical twist that will catch listeners off guard but in a good way. The album has a haunting quality about it that Rachel Brooke has always brought to her music. If you’re a newer listener, I highly recommend checking out Rachel’s previous albums, especially her records with Lonesome Wyatt of Those Poor Bastards. The Loneliness In Me is out everywhere as of October 23rd, 2020.
Favorite Tracks : It Ain’t Over Till You’re Crying, The Hard Way, The Loneliness In Me, Ghost Of You, The Awful Parts Of Me
Rachel Brooke – The Loneliness In Me (2020)
- It Ain’t Over Till You’re Crying
- Great Mistake
- The Hard Way
- The Loneliness In Me
- Picture On The Wall
- It Won’t Be Long
- Ghost Of You
- The Lovells Stockade Blues
- Lucky And Alone
- The Awful Parts Of Me
- Undecided Love
- I Miss It Like It’s Gone
