This Maggie Antone album is just flat out cool.
The Richmond native released her debut record, Rhinestoned, last Friday and I actually can’t stop listening to it. No seriously, I put it on while making dinner last night, ran it top to bottom twice, and the first thing I did this morning (after taking the dog out) was hit play again.
Maybe I’m just a sucker for her full but raspy voice. Maybe it’s the unpredictable melodies and sharp lines that slap me in the face with how well they’re worded. Maybe it’s the honesty of the lyrics, revealing the hidden side of that kind of mean, hot, popular girl that all the boys want to love but really don’t know much about.
Honestly, it’s all of that but there’s another reason why this album is so addicting: It’s only 10 songs.
Yes, I too heard the collective gasp of industry experts all the way here in Northern Virginia. Exasperated suits saying “But what about the streaming numbers?” and “You just don’t understand, you need more, more, more, more!”
Can we be honest about the massive albums that almost everyone has been releasing? They’re really more like playlists and the idea of a record, which has always been the core of country music, is getting washed out just to bring about some short term success. Sure, you can scrounge up a few more streams to help place the album higher on the charts by including filler songs, but what does that do to the overall product? By definition, it waters it down.
Making an album is supposed to be about capturing a moment in time and threading it through songs that, though sonically different with various surface-level content, hold that central idea and add context, flavor, and depth. Not every record has to be a concept album, I’m not saying they all should be about one thing and one thing only, but this dart board method of throwing seemingly random tracks at the public until one goes viral on TikTok is sloppy and will be a detriment to the genre in the long run.
Think about it like food. Sure, McDonald’s is able to get lots of meals to lots of people and do it over and over again, but that mass consumption of overprocessed slop leads to unhealthy consequences at scale. For the consumer, there’s nothing wrong with having a McDouble from time to time (Personally, I eat way more of them than I should), but as more quality foods get swapped for cheap and easy ones, will anyone deny that the person will get unhealthier? The same holds true for country music.
Back to Rhinestoned.
Maggie wrote or co-wrote all 10 tracks and my personal favorite, “Me & Jose Cuervo,” was a solo write that bucks even more industry rules, coming in at just over 2 minutes without a chorus. Backed only by a muted guitar, we hear a stream of consciousness from a sad mind on what should have been a happy day.
The near rhymes speak volumes to me in this one; she has things to get off her chest but because of that tequila she can’t make them perfect and that drives home the heart of this song.
While there’s a theme of sad cowgirl throughout the project it doesn’t mean some of the songs aren’t upbeat.
“Johnny Moonshine” opens the album and is a sing-along about knowing you’re making the wrong choice but diving in anyway. “Mess With Texas” is a fun one about having tried to date guys from all the southern states but Texas and figuring you might as well give a Lone Star man a try.
As you may have guessed from the title, a theme in many of the songs is getting high. The whole album seems to come out of a haze and sonically captures that almost deep thinking and cloudy judgement of buzzing through your younger years. Safe to say, it brought back some memories, or at least a few pieces of them…
At just over 37 minutes, it’s a very accessible and digestible project which goes back to the album length conversation. Could she have stuffed this with some more tracks and tried to ride the wave of colossal albums? Of course, and unfortunately that may have even been the “business savvy” decision, but I’m so happy she didn’t because it leaves you with the feeling of wanting more.
When “Meant To Meet” ends and Spotify starts playing something on shuffle, I’m disappointed. I have a craving for more and that’s a good thing. A 10 song album is perfect for just that reason, it gets you on the hook. Instead of trying to suck a listener out of every bit of energy, Rhinestoned feeds you just enough and then disappears, making you go back to the top to listen again, daydream about what her next project will be, and go buy tickets to the concert closest to you.
If you need proof that 10 songs, or at least not 35, is the correct length for a country album, look no further than the masterpiece that Maggie Antone put together.