2/17/20

Lynne Hanson: February 2020 Artist of the Month


Lynne Hanson
Just Words

Jan Hall of Folk Roots Radio dubbed Ottawa-based Lynne Hanson, “Canada’s own queen of Americana.” Wish I had said that! Hanson is my favorite kind of female vocalist: one with a low voice who sings effortlessly and has no need for affected coolness. Just Words, her 7th studio recording, makes it easy to understand why Hanson has won two Canadian Folk Music awards, two Acoustic Project alt-country awards, and raves from all who have heard her.

Ironically, she’s not really a folk or a country artist. You’ll hear those influences in her music, but you’ll also hear splashes of rock and big waves of the blues. Her voice will put you in mind of a blend of artists such as Mary Chapin Carpenter, Lucinda Williams, and Mary Gauthier. Think Carpenter’s silky controlled contralto, Williams’ toughness, and Gauthier’s sense of detached resignation. Fittingly, “True Blue Moon,” the album’s single release, tells of a romantic dalliance with a poet that the narrator knows cannot last: Forever is for diamonds/And for poets like you/Happy ever lasts as long/As a rainbow in June/I’ve tried to pretend/This story won’t end/But they always do…. If that’s not resignation enough for you, “Lollipops and Roses” implores: When I die won’t you bury me/With lollipops and roses next to me/Cause I’ve been riding this bitter train so long/I’m in need of something sweet….

Hanson knows that good art and pain are a better fit than most of us are comfortable in contemplating. Her “Long Way Home” reflects upon heartbreak’s detritus–loneliness, booze, losing track of time–but is also a veiled commentary on her own 8-year struggle to stay sober. You have to have been kicked around a few times to muse on such things. For-real living is one of many things that makes Just Words a mature album whose highs and lows ring true. “HigherGround” is swampy and bluesy song with a bit of backwoods gospel peeking through the leaves: I’ve been a lover/I’ve been a leaver/I lacked faith/Been a true believer/What I learned/You wanna get to heaven/Gotta take the higher ground. “Every Minute In Between” is a reminder that the lower ground is usually the path for a broken heart. The title track is equally unvarnished–a look at how hard it is for girls to get past paternal and social expectations.

Hanson shines both as a solo artist and as a band animal, and who could not love the name of her frequent ensemble: The Good Intentions?  As a singer, Hanson is the real deal. Watch her carefully in this video for “Clean Slate.” It is, first of all, a memorable mishmash melody of folk, pop, and Americana that exemplifies why it’s hard to categorize her music. More significantly, observe how she moves from verse to chorus. The transition is so seamlessly smooth that it takes a moment to notice the increased power of the latter.  

Call Just Words an album that hurts so good. Use those last two words to describe Lynne Hanson. 

Rob Weir

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