MUSIC REVIEW: GRACE WOMACK – Yellow Cowboy Hat EP

Label: Independent

Release Date: August 13, 2021

Rating: 95%

Reviewer: Todd “Toddstar” Jolicoeur

Some discs get reviewed because I love the artist or the genre.  The upcoming release from Grace Womack caught my attention because its fun.  The music is contagious and rolls easily through the air when working, driving, or just chilling with two fingers of bourbon.  Kicking off the EP with a mellow piano and vocal duet is “Pity The Fool.”  If you hang in long enough, the song starts to unfold and incorporates some percussion and once the chorus kicks in, we get the full band treatment including some cool layered background vocals.  “Friendship” comes at you next with a cool piano piece that grows on you and climbs in your head like a perfect earworm.  Emotional delivery of the fun lyrics are the real star on this track, as the different textures and tones in the vocal draws you in and keeps your attention.  “Oblivion” is a showcase for Womack’s rich vocal that drips like honey over the track and coats the piano sound that takes us from intro to outro and provides the perfect foundation for Grace’s vocal performance.  While not necessarily the most upbeat or in your face song, this one holds on and brings you back time and time again.  Title track “Yellow Cowboy Hat” is one of the songs that resonates with me each time I listen through.  The fun cadence of the track tied in with the horns and bouncy percussion is a game changer.  This one puts the F in fun and doesn’t let up for almost 3:30.  The song ends before you are ready and just might prompt you to kick it to the beginning before the next track starts up.  “Miss Tennessee” is another song that leans on the vocals amidst the keyboard and piano swirl that drives the track.  The percussion is light enough to keep time without taking over the track.  The lyrics are matched in intensity by Womack’s lush delivery that pushes and pulls from different corners of the emotional landscape and delivers near perfection, especially when the choruses fade with a slight vibrato.  Disc closer “How We Met” is a killer tongue in cheek (and who knows where else) track that embraces the current dating climate and wraps it in a cool musical component that is as driving as it is airy and pop-filled.  This song alone is worth the price of admission, with the other five songs jumping along for the ride and enhancing the collection, allowing us to get different glimpses into Grace Womack as a singer, songwriter, and performer.  I can’t wait to see what happens next with Womack and hope to get a chance to hear these live soon!

Tracklisting: Pity The Fool – Friendship – Oblivion – Yellow Cowboy Hat – Miss Tennessee – How We Met

GRACE WOMACK LINKS:

OFFICIAL SITE

TWITTER

YELLOW COWBOY HAT ITUNES

Category: CD Reviews