Emily Nenni Injects Classic Country Sounds with Southern Soul on Expansive ‘Movin’ Shoes’ (ALBUM REVIEW)

From the smoky quality of Patsy Cline’s vocals to Willie Nelson’s weathered, honest delivery, there is an authenticity to some voices in country music that simply can’t be faked. Though not nearly a household name (yet), the timbre of Emily Nenni’s twang is just as infectiously powerful. Across more than a dozen tracks on her latest, Movin’ Shoes, the Nashville-by-way-of-California musician delves into a mix of honky-tonk and Southern soul for her most expansive record yet.

She turned to labelmate John James Tourville of the Deslondes to produce this one, and they recorded at Southern Grooves in Memphis, whose influence is clearly felt across the album. The title track opens on a smooth funk groove, driven by a Rhodes organ and bass (recalling Three Dog Night’s “Mama Told Me”), before Nenni’s unmistakably distinctive vocals take over. Her delivery is unhurried, almost spilling out, sung with the weariness of someone who’s already seen it all. “Talkin’ to Your Toothbrush” finds her slipping away from funk and settling into a wistful song about regret, and just as quickly she leans into her outlaw country influences on “Take My Money,” with a cocksure delivery that would make Waylon Jennings wink.

But on “Not a Winner,” again with that unmistakable Rhodes organ playing in the background, she turns in one of her best moments yet, somehow making self-awareness sound so cool with her detached, “oh well” delivery. “Home With My Dog” has a similarly effortless, breezy vibe, making for another stellar moment on the record. Elsewhere, her cover of Paul Simon’s weepy ballad “Tenderness” is one of those rare instances in which the remake eclipses the original.

Like some of the most recent output from peers like Charley Crockett and Margo Price, Movin’ Shoes has a time-capsule quality that makes these songs feel less like new releases and more like tapes rescued from a locked vault. But if Movin’ Shoes occasionally leans on its influences, it does so with a clarity of purpose and a voice strong enough to carry the weight. Nenni may not be a household name yet, but with a record like this, it’s only a matter of time.