[rating=6.00]
In terms of talent, sheer vocal power and songwriting, Lissie is a no-brainer. The solo artist has been through a lot since her 2010 debut Catching a Tiger. And though it was only a handful of years ago, she has grown and changed both as an artist and a person. With her third studio album My Wild West, she confronts the countless transitions she’s experienced trying to “make it” in the music business, and through some of her rawest songs yet.
When Lissie burst onto the scene in 2010, she garnered a ton of buzz. Her sexy powerhouse voice that seemed to come from such a deep place inside her along with her messy blonde hair and carefree aesthetic were so appealing. But as the music industry goes, Lissie was hard to categorize. Was she rock? Pop? Folk? Alt-country? She had a little of everything on the truly outstanding Tiger, but never seemed to break through all the way. On her next album, 2013’s Back to Forever, she seemed to be carving out more of a pop rock place for herself, but it did not carry the same confidence as her debut, and even sounded less like her. What is so refreshing about West is that she seems to have given up trying to figure all of that out. Lissie is finally ready to just be herself, whatever that version may be. The point is, it’s not dictating her career any longer. Or at least it doesn’t sound like it.
Part of moving on from the grasp of the “biz” was Lissie’s move from the West Coast to the Midwest, from where she originally came and where she felt most at home. Many of the songs on West are charged with the kind of wisdom of someone who has taken the time to look at life from a new perspective. “Go For a Walk” turns a simple stroll through nature into an existential metaphor for freedom and becoming untethered. “Wild West” turns her move out west into an epic, sprawling adventure about finding herself. “Ojai” is a love (or breakup) letter to the city that held her for so long, and “Hollywood” is a sweet send-off to the city that broke her heart.
West as a whole is grand and mountainous. Its sound is stadium-sized, which for an artist with a voice like Lissie’s is fitting. She has returned to her roots this time around, and it suits her. There is something about this this record that feels like on the cusp. Of just exactly what is yet to be determine, but it’s a new chapter for a truly special artist that deserves to be heard, no matter where she is.
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