If Kacey Musgraves, Brandi Carlile, and Lori McKenna had a songwriting circle, Laura Sawosko would match proper in. Her newest album, Not What I Do (dropping April 18), is a superbly crafted mixture of heartache, humor, and hard-won knowledge, proving as soon as once more that she’s one in all Nashville’s most underrated singer-songwriters. With 12 unique tracks, the album takes you on a journey by way of love, loss, id, and private development, all wrapped in a heat Americana sound that feels timeless but completely recent.
WEBSITE: https://www.laurasawosko.com/
Sawosko isn’t new to the sport. She’s performed Nashville’s most iconic venues, opened for main artists, and even braved the fact TV present Worry Issue again within the day (sure, actually!) However what units her aside is her capacity to show the on a regular basis into one thing poetic. On “Biscuits and Gravy,” she transforms a Southern breakfast staple right into a love letter to nostalgia. “Extra Than Only a Burger” does the identical, proving {that a} tune about quick meals can someway make you cry.
After which there’s “Take My Hand,” an emotional intestine punch that appears like one thing off the perfect of any up to date singer-songwriter’s album. With a quiet power, Sawosko sings about survival and solidarity, weaving in themes of vulnerability and resiliency with out ever feeling preachy. It’s uncooked, actual, and probably the most highly effective moments on the album.
The title observe, “Not What I Do,” is the emotional core of the file. It’s an intimate, stripped-down meditation on id and the wrestle to interrupt free from expectations. Consider it as a cross between Maggie Rogers’ soul-searching ballads and the brutal honesty of Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season.”
Sawosko’s voice has a uncooked, unpolished high quality that makes all the pieces really feel deeply private—like she’s singing these songs in your lounge, only for you. And whereas the album leans closely into people and nation influences, there are moments that really feel nearly indie-pop. “Faculty Days,” for instance, has the identical nostalgic power as Olivia Rodrigo’s “Teenage Dream,” however with the maturity of somebody wanting again slightly than nonetheless residing it.
APPLE MUSIC: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/laura-sawosko/4420275
Lyrically, Not What I Do is filled with these one-liners that hit you out of nowhere. The sort you wish to scribble in a journal or textual content to your finest pal at 2 a.m. The ultimate observe, “Not Your Purpose,” leaves us on a be aware of quiet empowerment—a reminder that generally essentially the most highly effective factor you are able to do is stroll away.
Total, Not What I Do is an album that calls for to be felt. It’s good for lengthy street journeys, wet afternoons, or these late-night existential crises if you simply want a tune that understands. Laura Sawosko won’t have mainstream radio play (but), however this album proves she’s making among the most compelling music within the singer-songwriter house proper now. In case you love artists like Brandi Carlile, The Chicks, and even the storytelling of early Ed Sheeran, Not What I Do must be in your playlist.
Mindy McCall
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