Girl Going Nowhere

On her debut album, Girl Going Nowhere, Ashley McBryde sounds like an outsider in Nashville. She doesn't attempt to meddle with the electronics that are so in vogue in 2018, yet she doesn't seem overly concerned with conventional notions of country tradition. Certainly, Girl Going Nowhere isn't layered with fiddles and steel guitars: It's a brawny, guitar-heavy affair that doesn't hide its debts to Eric Church. Jay Joyce, the producer of every Church album since 2006's Sinners Like Me, helms Girl Going Nowhere, and he helps give the record muscle and a clean polish, but he's not the one responsible for its success -- McBryde is a tough, soulful singer/songwriter, one who embraces her '80s roots -- roots that aren't limited to country, either. Although the album has echoes of such Nashville rebels as Steve Earle, it can also sound like epic heartland rock, sounds that suit McBryde's finally etched portraits of life in small town U.S.A. "Livin' Next to Leroy" and "A Little Dive Bar in Dahlonega" teem with vivid details about the working class, and she's equally skilled at creating soulful slow-burners like "The Jacket" and "Home Sweet Highway," not to mention open-road anthems like "Radioland." The forceful sound of Girl Going Nowhere may camouflage the subtleties of her songwriting, but it's also an asset, as the production, along with her powerhouse voice, demand attention. Once McBryde has that, she gives you plenty of reasons to return to this exceptional record again and again. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine