Charlotte Cornfield
Hurts Like Hell
***and1/2 out of *****
For her sixth studio album, the Canadian based singer/songwriter Charlotte Cornfield deals with motherhood for the first time and the new outlook on life which that brings. The opening "Before" sets the tone as Cornfield repeats the phrase "Real love, no fantasy". The sheen may be off, but the raw emotions are the ones that stick around.
Cornfield's take on Americana is slow rolling with fuzzy edges. Working with Philip Weinrobe who recorded, produced and mixed the album, the easy floating, slightly off-kilter tunes set a warm launching pad for Cornfield's vocals piano and guitars. She worked with Adam Brisbin (guitar, pedal steel), Bridget Kearney (bass, vocals), El Kempner (guitar, vocals), Sean Mullins (drums), Buck Meek (vocals), Christian Lee Hutson (vocals), Leslie Feist (featured vocals), Nuria Graham (piano, vocals), Philip Weinrobe (synth), Maia Friedman (vocals) and Daniel Pencer (saxophone) to craft the sound and scope of the songs.
The title track uses warbling guitars and shimmering cymbals as Cornfield sings her high pitch vocals and delivers a welcoming Americana sound. When Cornfield brings in other vocalists excellent results follow as Hutson supports her on "Lost Leader", a straight ahead tale of musician worship and disappointment. Her best vocal pairing is on the failed romance tale "Living With It (feat. Feist)" as Feist complements Cornfields high notes wonderfully.
Vocally and with her detail-orientated songwriting, Cornfield is reminiscent of S.G. Goodman as the specifics add layers to the tunes. "Long Game" is a shaggy free form tale that wanders at its own pace name-checking Neil Young who is a clear influence on this following-the-muse tune. "Squiddd" is a weepy country modern love story of what could have been that hovers winningly on a Brooklyn street corner while "Kitchen" uses hazy piano and samples to move from a first romantic meeting until conception. Less successful is "Lucky" a more upbeat rocker with a scratchy guitar solo that is a bit out of place on the slow waltzing record.
The album ends with the stark/echoing motherhood tale "Bloody and Alive" as the world shifts around Cornfield and the listener. Hurts Like Hell is Charlotte's debut for Merge records and it feels like a successful coming out party for the next phase of her career.
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