Album Review: Margo Price, Hard Headed Woman

A fixture on the Nashville scene for more than two decades, Margo Price has never recorded in the town she calls home – until now, that is. This sixth album was made in the famous RCA Studio A, which has played host to everyone from Leonard Cohen and Dolly Parton to The Beach Boys and BB King.

Fellow Nashville resident Jesse Welles duets on the catchy, country-blues shuffle of ‘Don’t Wake Me Up’, while ‘Love Me Like You Used To Do’ is an old time country waltz, which sees Price trading verses with Tyler Childers, who miraculously manages to rhyme roses with “woe-ses”.

The brass-inflected stomp of ‘I Just Don’t Give A Damn’ and honky-tonk gallop of ‘Don’t Let The Bastards Get You Down’ are tremendous fun. The arrangement on the latter is perhaps a little formulaic, but makes up for it with wry and witty lyricism, as Price delivers the killer put-down: “All the cocaine in existence couldn’t keep your nose out of my business.”

‘Wild At Heart’ adds a little Latin rhythm to the mix, while the closing ‘Kissing You Goodbye’ is a note-perfect country kiss-off to a no-good paramour.

Y’all listen up now: Margo’s back in town.

7/10