Corrie Lynn Green is an American singer songwriter based in the Shenandoah Valley in West Virginia. She has just released her debut album, full of vignettes that tell stories from her own life. It’s called Blow Away.
By Graeme Smith
Feature photo by Corrie Lynn Green
The album opens with its first single and title track, a delicious slide of Americana. It has an immediate impact. Corrie Lynn’s vocals are wonderfully expressive and its story, though modern, feels traditional. Its tale unfolds in heart-breaking detail while the instrumentals paint a picture of Appalachia. It’s a beautiful start.
Though there are a lot of familiar elements to Corrie Lynn’s sound, she brings a unique perspective. In A Small Town brings to life a part of the world that is too often overlooked. “Life” is the key word – it’s a wonderfully lively track and its lyrical story bursts with authentic detail.
Flood opens simply with Corrie’s banjo and has a sense of poignancy about it. If You Gotta Go is a take on the darker side of love that feels like a sigh of resignation. Hard Way marries natural imagery with human nature to create a sense of beautiful melancholy. It’s these collective slices of every day life that really make this album feel relatable, while Corrie’s song writing sets it apart from contemporaries.
The first half of the album is rounded off by Shame. A stripped-back, outward-looking track, it unflinchingly addresses the unfairness of how women are treated in society. Corrie speaks of her own experience as well as the wider female one in what is an album highlight.
The Wolves is thematically similar, this time turning its lens on the male of the species. Its upbeat arrangement hides the dark story of its lyrics. Angels Teeth continues the thought, this time with a side swipe at organised religion. It’s another highlight.
Bottom of the Barrel returns to the introspective and the unaccompanied banjo before HideAway Boy brings mournful strings and a heck of a yarn. Boxcar is punchy with an undercurrent of violence before Earth To Nora completes the album. Corries saves the best for last with it. It’s richly emotive with a soft acoustic guitar melody.
My words simply aren’t enough to describe what a beautiful record Blow Away is. If you’re a fan of Appalachian music, it’s a must-listen. If you’re a human being, it’s a must-listen. If this album doesn’t launch Corrie to folk music fame then there’s no justice in the world. You can give Blow Away a listen for yourself below.