Since COVID lockdown, we’ve run a recurring print column called Another Look that rounds up several super-brief record reviews. It’s a way to highlight worthy releases from Nashville-residing musicians during the past few months that we haven’t yet covered in-depth. The time has come for an evolution: Rather than one whopping article, we’re revamping Another Look as a series of single short reviews, with one or more iterations online each week.
Crys Matthews tends to make the music fit the message, and not the other way around. That doesn’t diminish the musicality of her masterful new country-folk album Reclamation one bit, and her messages are too important to be messed with. Let’s not beat around the bush: Regardless of what corrosive goals the new Trump administration does or does not achieve, it emboldens people to embrace the worst parts of human nature, which puts everyone at risk. Reclamation is clear and firm in its opposition and its refusal to let bigots dim the light.
Grooving opener “The Difference Between” is gentle but forceful as Matthews gets right in the face of anyone who wants to pretend that being from the country or having small-town pride is an excuse for being a bully. Other songs celebrate the humanity of trans individuals, excoriate religious hypocrisy and much more. There’s abundant joy too, in songs like “I Want It All,” about embracing everything that makes up your partner.
Find the record on your favorite streaming service or get a copy via Matthews’ website, and follow her on Instagram for updates. Your next opportunity to catch her in town is supporting fellow songsmith and fiancée Heather Mae at her album release party, March 18 at Drkmttr.
