Margo Price continues to push herself, try new things all while bringing more and more of her personal self into her music. The production from Jonathan Wilson is impressive, beautiful, and adds layers upon layers of richness that only makes Price's songwriting and storytelling even more vivid.
Nashville-based singer and songwriter Margo Price seemed to come out of nowhere back in 2016 with the sudden explosion from her debut album Midwest Farmer's Daughter but her upbringing towards acclaim and success was a long uphill battle. Years of traveling on the road playing gigs, working dead end jobs just to have enough to get by and trying again and again and again to make a successful music career only to be halted once again. Price is no stranger to hard work or fighting for success. She's proven herself to be one of the most hard-working singers and songwriters in the world of country, folk, rock, blues, and Americana music. It's well-deserved too, considering the critical acclaim and recognition she continues to get from her major influences from Willie Nelson to Jack White. Her entire discography is well respected and consistently great in my opinion. Each studio album features new styles and sounds, great vivid, traditional storytelling all while having tasteful production from top-tier producers like famed multi-layered rocker Sturgill Simpson on That's How Rumors Get Started. 2017's All American Made is my personal favorite of hers and I still believe it's one of the best albums of the 2010's not just in this genre but in popular music in general. It's her most adventurous album pulling all sorts of styles from blues, introspective acoustics, and even alternative rock.
After listening to Strays, Margo Price's fourth studio album, you can hear that this is definitely her most adventurous album to date, surpassing the experimentation from All American Made. This time Price has help from all-star producer Jonathan Wilson, whose added much color and psychedelic layers to music from acts like Father John Misty, Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst, Pink Floyd's Roger Waters and Dawes. The production is probably the most noticeable difference within this album compared to her previous ones. It's largely more oriented in the classic psychedelic rock of the 1970's a la Tom Petty, which shouldn't be a surprise since Petty is one of Price's biggest idols. You can hear lots of color, lushness, and richness in the instrumentation across this record's track listing. There's more jamming and detail from her backing band too. Just like on All American Made, Strays features a ton of variety where each track is its own tale and story. There's a great amount of variety that will keep you coming back to this album of ten tracks.
Album opener "Been to the Mountain" definitely paints the album's central picture of how much Price has been through throughout her life and music career, being to the mountain and back. Like many songs on Strays, this one's a throwback to some of the best music from 70's classic rock. I enjoy her raw, untamed vocals that definitely has some excellent moments on this song. "Light Me Up" is another big highlight that starts out being a gentle lullaby but quickly explodes into a fiery jam that will make you want to immediately hit replay once it's over. Like its title, "Radio" is one of the poppier moments on the album that's sweetly sung by Price, featuring surprise guest backing vocals from indie icon Sharon Van Etten. Although I do wish Etten's vocals were more prominent than they actually are, I still find "Radio" to be a great standout track that's probably the album's most inviting song. "Change of Heart" is a heavy and steady rocker that's definitely full of attitude and personality. "County Road" is a gorgeous traditional piano ballad that could've easily been snuck into an old country rock record from the 60's or 70's and no one would've batted an eye.
Like "Radio," "Time Machine" is one of the more blissful moments with shimmer, glistening guitars and melodies that shine as bright as the morning sunrise. The song, especially the tone, production, and dreamlike chorus reminds me of why I continue to enjoy Kacey Musgraves' excellent Golden Hour album from 2018. "Hell in the Heartland" is a moodier ballad that has very pretty and eerie harmonies with a powerful and satisfying progression that gets louder and more abrasive towards its ending. Despite "Anytime You Call" probably being my least favorite song and most forgettable on the album, it's still a solid tune that also features some great backing vocals from the vocal duo Lucius. "Lydia" is arguably the album best track and biggest surprise. A slow moving ballad that has Price telling a story about a fictional woman named Lydia going through issues of drugs, low income, and lack of childcare and healthcare among other things. It's a powerful and moving story about the relentless cycle and depressing system in America that seems to be destined for the poor to fail and to continue to fail with ultimately no way of climbing back out of the hole they've been initially thrown in. The way she narrates though the song is heartbreaking but it's also stunning and beautiful the way the strings fly into the instrumentation and how her raw emotions carry throughout the song. "Landfill" closes the album on a quieter, more ambient acoustic ballad that's equally as pretty and dreamy as all of the songs before it.
I won't cut any corners by saying Strays just straight up rules. Margo Price continues to push herself, try new things all while bringing more and more of her personal self into her music. The production from Jonathan Wilson is impressive, beautiful, and adds layers upon layers of richness that only makes Price's songwriting and storytelling even more vivid. I don't know if this surpasses All American Made in terms of quality (that is also a damn great record after all) but it certainly meets up to it. The track listing is full of variety, sonic bliss, and has a great flow from start to finish. This isn't as country leaning as some fans may want to hear but Strays is a wonderful and respectful ode to the excellent psychedelic rock and pop from the 1970's. Margo Price is as captivating of a performer as ever and her backing band sounds more and more in tune with each new record. As far as new albums in 2023 go, you can't really go wrong with Strays. I'm hoping for more experimentation and more adventurous style shifting in the near future because she continues to dazzle with her strong, often unpredictable abilities.
My Rating: 8 / 10
Favorite Songs: "Lydia," Light Me Up," "Radio," "Time Machine," "County Road"
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