Unless tailor made to target the wallets of a mass audience, most music is usually shaped by a songwriter's personal experiences and their immediate surroundings while crafting a record. 'My Wild West' is certainly in that mould and, with her having fled a decade-long love affair with California to return to the Midwest, it finds Lissie adopting a stripped back approach over the course of an introspective journey that doesn't quite fulfil its potential.
The seeds of this effort began to bloom on 2013’s 'Back To Forever'. Although boasting a bigger, more commercial sound, there was a burgeoning undercurrent of anger about the vacuous nature of celebrity and being treated as a commodity, not an artist. Those whispers subsequently grew to a roar, leading Lissie to make major changes, not only upping sticks but also breaking free from her record label to become an independent artist.
These melancholy songs are the result of those decisions, with the unencumbered songwriter essentially crafting a break-up album about a devilish serial charmer who seduces bright young things before grinding them down and casting them aside. The ex-lover in question is, of course, Tinseltown.
At its best, this record is exceptional. The humble defeatism of Hollywood, stoned murkiness of Hero – epitomising the emptiness of selling one's soul to make it in a world without rules or guarantees - and heart wrenching grief of Sun Keeps Risin' all boast gently stirring strings, lovely vocal harmonies and a wealth of subtle arrangements that delicately enhance their emotional resonance.
Lissie's vocals are utterly outstanding, too, as the sparse soundscapes allow her to take centre stage, revealing a spine-tingling ability to soar that's almost like a more earthy, less knowingly spectacular Adele.
A couple of feistier numbers also thrill, with the title track a surging, uncontrollable anthem about reckless living on the fine line between success and self destruction. Daughters is a feminist rallying cry inspired by Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee, with her courage and composure a key influence on Lissie's new found empowerment.
For all the positives, the record begins to stumble around the halfway mark. Don't You Give Up On me is a wonderful pop song but unsuited to this album, almost resembling something Bruce Springsteen would have left off as it doesn't fit the tonal aesthetic. Imagine the Boss dropping Hungry Heart onto 'Nebraska' and you'll get the point.
It's also hard to shake the feeling that, had Lissie remained focused on her years in the Golden State and explored that theme thoroughly, it would have created a stronger, more realised and fascinating piece. Instead, the final third opts for showcasing personal growth and optimism, its closing songs lighter, less claustrophobic and, although exhibiting a certain charm on Shroud and Ojai, which shares a name with the California town she lived in, too lyrically broad.
Speaking to Rolling Stone magazine, producer Ron Aniello revealed how Springsteen once said there aren't many great albums being made any more “because it's just hard”. Not writing songs, but crafting a musically and thematically cohesive, linear piece from first song to last. That lost art pretty much sums up 'My Wild West', an album of mostly great songs that, with more attention given to refining the overarching dynamic, could have been a truly powerful artistic statement.
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