The rise of Country music continues with an impressive pace here in the UK. The success of the genre, in large part to the TV show Nashville and the annual C2C: Country to Country festival, is giving a host of British artists making music in the genre a platform to finally be heard. Add to that the major label success of Ward Thomas and The Shires, and British Country music is finally getting a real foothold in the industry. One artist who is emerging brighter than the rest, and rightly so, is Essex singer-songwriter Lisa Wright.
I saw Wright when she supported Cam at the Islington Assembly Hall in London earlier this year. I hadn’t been all that familiar with her prior to seeing her performance but I left wanting to hear everything she’d ever done. At the end of May, Wright released new EP Mind of Mine featuring four new tracks including current single Tennessee, which opens the album.
Co-written with Kaity Rae, Tennessee explores the ups and downs of pursuing a career in the music industry. Wright’s captivating voice draws you in and her bold honesty truly embraces the traditional heart of the Country music genre. It’s a strong start to a glorious EP.
Never Gonna Fall and the title track Mind of Mine were both written solely by Wright. The former is playful uptempo number with a catchy melody and the latter is another honest moment where Wright admits that she takes on too much as she forges forward with her career.
The EP comes to a close with Giving Up the Ghost, a song Wright co-wrote with Nashville star Jake Etheridge. The acoustic number perfectly showcases Wright’s beautiful voice as she explores her upper register and delivers some truly wonderful, delicate moments. You can hear a Dolly Parton influence in the track as Wright bares her soul and brings goosebumps to your skin.
Mind of Mine is as flawless a release as you can get. There’s nothing I would change about any of these songs and each one of them hits the mark. For me this is a fantastic example of what real British Country music is about. Wright isn’t pandering after an American sound, she’s not polished her tracks up for a major label and she stands out due to her unique songwriting and vocals. Next time you hear someone tell you who is moving Country music forward in the UK, please correct them if Lisa Wright isn’t the first name out of their mouth.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”254097″ player=”531″ title=”Tennessee (Official Video)”]
Track list: 1. Tennessee 2. Never Gonna Fall 3. Mind of Mine 4. Giving Up the Ghost Record label: Lisa Wright Release date: 25th May 2018
