Release Date: September 27, 2011
The base elements that made Florence and the Machine such an astronomically successful British pop act are the same things that will prevent Nikki Lane from becoming Florence’s American counterpart. While she shares a similar fascination with the retro-female sounds of yore (British minstrelsy for Florence, country western for Lane) and has the distinct ability to craft hooky pop songs in her own vein, Lane is hamstrung by her decision to idolize and imitate those nonironic, older-skewing country stars that never get mentioned outside of their genre, with the occasional Tarantino movie excepted. That said, Lane’s debut, Walk of Shame, is a clever and punky update of some of the sounds that too often get forgotten in the race to sound “new.”
This is not to say that Walk of Shame is decidedly “retro.” The closing song, “I Can’t Be Satisfied,” sounds ripped from the Dixie Chicks’ songbook, with pounding electric guitars and drums accented by a little-too-down-home fiddle lick. “Come Away Joe” sounds like a She & Him song, which may sound ridiculous as an argument for Walk of Shame not being retro, but listen to the tune and it makes sense. Lastly, “Comin’ Home to You,” even if it drops “Chantilly lace” as a fancy getup, sells itself a bit too close to modern country-folk love ballads, again excepting the fact that the lyrical subject (coming home to a man after being on tour) is a decidedly new topic for female driven songs of this ilk.
When listening to Lane, it’s not like you’re transported back to a time when Patsy Cline or Loretta Lynn were dominant forces on the radio. You’re merely reminded of that time, better informing your knowledge of Lane’s reference points.
The first half of the record is a jolly tempo burster with shimmy-shake drum beats and low-end-hanging guitar work, punctuated with Lane’s pleasantly original verse. “Lies” is a Debbie Harry shrieker, while “Walk of Shame” gleefully paints Lane as a one-night stander, but not in that cloying and subtly sexist way most country women are singing now. First single “Gone, Gone, Gone” is straight out of “Kill Bill,” and it’s only flaw may be that it was created 10 years too late to be included. Along with the lively “Comin’ Home to You,” the first third of the record is saucy and modern, exactly what Lane should be doing to get herself noticed.
It’s a shame, then, that the rest of the record slows down a bit too much. While “Look Away” and “Sleep For You” are pretty little sashays piqued with perfectly antiquated pedal steel, “Save You” trends too far toward Saddle Creek, and “Blue Star in the Sky” is rehashing old material. “Hard Livin’” seems uninspired save for Lane admirable knack for writing clever, but not off-format, lyrical narratives (this one telling a man to stop complaining until he can buy her a nice house).
Lane’s style is familiar but not tried or pandering, which has its distinct advantages and disadvantages. Because country western, especially the style Lane trades in, hasn’t trended hip yet, Lane must weather a storm of “meh” from people who dismiss the genre entirely. Maybe she’ll catch on, and Walk of Shame certainly deserves to, but for now, Lane seems hamstrung by being in the right place at the wrong time.
Nikki Lane – Walk of Shame Tracklist:
- “Lies”
- “Walk of Shame”
- “Coming Home to You”
- “Gone, Gone, Gone”
- “Sleep for You”
- “Look Away”
- “Hard Livin'”
- “Save You”
- “Come Away Joe”
- “Blue Star in the Sky”
- “I Can’t Be Satisfied”
