It seems like warmer weather is never going to find its way and we are stuck in this never ending winter in middle Tennessee. Though it may seem that way, I have it on good authority that things are going to begin to start warming up in the upcoming days and we all know that meteorologists never ever get the weather wrong. The temperature may still be floating around freezing but the new releases out today are sure to heat you up this weekend. A former pop-punk princess is back with a new album as well as two of the biggest European bands of the 1980s. The highlight of the week belongs to a New Orleans based alt-country band who is releasing their sophomore effort today.
Anne Elise Hastings and Her Revolving Cast of Characters Unmasking a Confidence Trickster
Songwriters find inspiration for their craft from all avenues of their lives. One may write a whole album’s worth of songs from one moment in their life while others will write an album with no clear theme set in mind. New Orleans based alt-country band Anne Elise Hastings and Her Revolving Cast of Characters set out to record an album set around the theme of how people really are once the layers are peeled back. Hastings even takes aim at herself, so no one is safe.
Unmasking a Confidence Trickster is an album clearly influenced by Appalachian roots music that has an old-country feel to it. The influences of Dar Williams, Townes Van Zant, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Patsy Cline can be heard throughout the album. The opening tack “Twice Married, Twice Divorced” feels like it belonged on Carpenter’s Come On Come On record.
The songs on their brand new album show a vast range in emotion and tone. One moment, Hastings will channel her Great Grandmother, telling her love story. Then, she’ll be taking out her anger at a heinous ex-lover or navigating the dark waters of depression. For Hastings, this collection aims to break down the image that people have created for themselves, unveiling the con artist within everyone. After all, no one is a hero. Not even the writer herself.
One of the highlights of the record is “Jack Kerouac,” a song about the most awful men that women encounter throughout their lives and not the heralded beat writer. The song dwells on the type of men who do not bring anything to the table and are still self-obsessed and controlling. Hastings puts these pseudointellectuals in their place in the song singing, “Cause I’ve been working way too hard for some guy with shitty tattoos to tell me what to do / No I’m far too smart to let somebody like you go break my heart.”
Ahead of its release, Unmasking A Confidence Trickster drew praise from national and local critics alike. Magnet Magazine wrote, “Hastings’ vocal delivery—a sometimes uneasy balance of vulnerability and strength that’s part Loretta Lynn, part Janis Joplin—has the same ability to transfix” and Under The Radar said, “Hastings crafts potent arrangements and soul-stirring storytelling, casting herself as an alluring alt-country troubadour.” Holler premiered the album and called it “a meticulously crafted alt-country standards and shambling sidewalk folk.”
If you are a fan of old-country full of twang, powerful vocals and exceptional story telling than Unmasking a Confidence Trickster is an album you must add to your rotation.
Remember to check out some of the other great releases out this week…
- Avril Lavigne Love Sux
- Scorpions Rock Believer
- Tears for Fears The Tipping Point
- Kodak Black Back For Everything
- Superchunk Wild Loneliness
Steven McCash is the Lead Music Writer and Utility Man for SoBros Network. Steven is the host of the ‘Drinking With…’ podcast, and the pioneer of New Music Friday, highlighting each week’s new releases in the world of music in addition to the occasional live show review. He also pitches in as a Nashville lifestyle writer and football analyst (hence the ‘Utility Man’ title). Follow on Twitter: @MC_Cash75
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