Back in the day, the normal way to make an album was for the vocalist to go into the studio with musicians that did little else besides play on recordings being made for the name on the cover. Whether or not they knew the singer didn’t matter: they were musical craftsmen punching a time clock. That process changed over the years due to costs, artistic preferences, geography, and other industry shifts. Recent Nashville transplant Alice Wallace went back to that methodology for her latest record, Here I Am. In just two days, with session players she’d never met and songs they’d never heard, they learned, improved, and recorded all eleven tracks for the project.
The CD starts with Imposter, an unplanned token representation for the studio sessions. When Wallace sings that “someday someone’s going to find out my biggest secret” she’s exposing a thought all performers have at one point or another. But fronting the thought in a studio with Grammy winners takes that self-confidence gremlin to a new level. Another auto-biographical tune is Fireflies. It’s a sultry love song to the nature and climate of her new home, Tennessee. Here, the steaminess is about the humidity more than the passion. The title track gets its inspiration from Song of Amergin, the oldest known poem from the British Isles. In this case the “I” is Alice, and more broadly humanity, and our connection to the natural world.
Those stellar session players make their presence felt on a number of tracks. They insert some funky R&B into the country of Dancin’ To the Beat Of My Heartbreak. Things get a little bluesy on Better Than This, a song written just after George Floyd’s death. There’s a tangible sense of unease when Wallace notes, “this is not who we are, I refuse to believe.” When This Song Ends, a co-write with Crystal Bowersox, takes a spin around the country dance floor in a tip of the hat to similar experiences they had in relationships with cowboys. Looking has more of a rock feel while it wonders if you could miss your destiny because you’re too busy staring at your cell phone.
Before moving to Nashville, Alice Wallace spent a decade climbing the ladder in LA’s country music scene. Although winning awards and releasing critically-acclaimed albums, she felt her next steps for success came with a relocation. With the debut of Here I Am, it’s clear she made a great choice and it’s time to check out her music if you’re not already a fan.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.