The pride of Saskatchewan’s country scene, Tenille Arts, is set to release her fourth album this coming Friday. The anticipation and hype is high after not only a stream of three incredible albums before this, but a string of excellent singles in the meantime, a lot of which end up on this. I’ve been a fan of her work for a few years now, which has only grown more since seeing her live last year. I’ve been impatiently waiting for the time to review this album and it has finally arrived, so let’s dive right in!
The opener/title track jumps right into things with Tenille’s effortlessly smooth vocals over the top of a simple beat and guitars. The perfect vocal harmonies herald the arrival of the chorus, making it all feel bigger, grander and catchier. It’s an impressive feat, given that it’s still a relatively stripped-back song. I know it’s an insane comparison given that Tenille has been going longer, but it really reminds me of some of Megan Moroney’s slower stuff. And of course, as expected, the lyrics are incredible. It’s a great way to open the album and sets up the pop country tone perfectly.
The same feel and vibe continues through the following track, latest single ‘So Do I’ (featuring a cheeky Demi Lovato writing credit). It’s another fantastic song, this time feeling closer to some of Taylor Swift’s newer stuff. However, and this is surely going to be a controversial statement given the online consensus around Taylor’s new album; the lyrics in this hit me far harder than anything on TORTURED POETS. And considering how vocally not into the recent anti-pop, build-to-a-stadium-chorus-that-stays-pretty-low-instead style, I thought it worked really well here. Tenille’s vocals and delivery are captivating, and the chorus is so well written that it feels massive even though instrumentally it isn’t especially. It’s an amazing song that I’mma have stuck in my head for days to come. It easily makes our playlist!
Tracks like ‘Wonder Woman’ and ‘Something I can Cry To’ have that late 2000s radio-country vibe that Tenille has become so known for over the years. The instrumentation is still pretty basic and safe, but the choruses feel massive and anthemic, and of course are sung to perfection as usual. However, they still fit in with the previous two songs on the album very well. The changes in dynamics are subtle, giving the album a pretty great flow while feeling impressively cohesive. And damn, that chorus on the latter is amazing. The instrumentation in ‘Something…’ is a bit more present too, which I like. There’s a lot going on and gives it a warmer, rounder sound, as well as making it all sound huge.
‘Dying to be Pretty’ reminds me of a modern Shania Twain song, having just a touch of pop-rock blended with the country. It’s the biggest up-beat anthem on the album, having a great bounce to its faster pace and higher energy. It’s another infectiously catchy chorus too, easily an antenna-filler that I can see blaring out across huge festivals crowds. The lyrics again are amazing, too. I can see them resonating with a lot of people, and not just women. A lot of this album has already been released as singles already, but it’s interesting that this one was left out from that; I feel like it could be massive with the mainstream audience. Maybe they have more planned for it after the album release. Either way, it’s a fantastic song that I’ve listened to multiple times already during this review. It’s another that makes our playlist!
‘How Do You Sleep’ is the first acoustic ballad of the album. It’s a simple arrangement; Tenille’s vocal and an acoustic guitar making up the vast majority of what’s contained in it. There’s the odd vocal harmony and subtle piano in the back, but I love the overall simple, incredibly stripped-back style. And it fits the theme of the song perfectly, too. Tenille delivers one of her best ever vocal performances, the raw emotion and vulnerability a real gut-punch, in a good way, of course! It’s positioned pretty perfectly on the album too, sandwiched between a few more higher-energy, pop/rock-tinged country songs. It’s a great change of pace that broke things up perfectly. And wow, what a fantastic way to do so!
Speaking of warmer tracks, songs like ‘People Change’ and ‘Want Her Back’ are more awesome tracks. The banjo (right?) in the former was amazing, adding a lot to the sound by doing very little and firmly grounding the song in country. It also gives off big Cam vibes with the vocal melody in the chorus. Meanwhile the latter is typical ‘high-school country’. It’s a touch on the cringy side, but in a good way. It’s a good, catchy, well written song that, if among lesser songs or released a decade ago, could have been the big hit of the album!
Another recent single, ‘Next Best Thing’, is another banger of a track. The stripped-back, acoustic-centric intro and verses makes the choruses even more impactful and sound MASSIVE. And they’re infectiously catchy because of that, too. The lyrics are well written, if again just a touch cringy. Then again, an empowered breakup song always has to have a slight cheese to it, right? It’s a massive song from an instrument standpoint though, and that chorus is amazing. I can see why this was one of the singles, and a pretty darn popular one at that.
‘Call me When you Get Home Friends’ was where I finally started to feel the length of the album a little. 10 tracks is pretty good for me in terms of more pop-oriented country; most albums have lost my tiny attention span by now. Tracks like it and ‘Summer Don’t Go’ are certainly not bad songs by any stretch of the imagination, either. Both are fantastic songs in their own right, and I’ll be surely listening to them again and again going forward. The latter in particular is another favourite of mine from the album, and another playlist maker. It’s not even an especially long album (for country), only being 14 tracks. I simply run out of things to talk about when a lot of the songs are vaguely similar and all so good!
The other ballad of the album, ‘Mama’s Eyes’, is surprisingly enough dedicated to her mother. It’s another phenomenal vocal performance from Tenille, a real running theme of the album. There’s a bit more instrumentation to this track compared to ‘How do you Sleep’, the music swelling perfectly from the piano intro to the grandiose choruses and outro. And the lyrics are truly beautiful. It’s a fantastic country song, and another really amazing single. Honestly I don’t have anything to say about the song that I haven’t already said about other tracks; I’m trying hard not to come across as some crazed fangirl. But it’s a great track, and another that’s more than worth checking out if you have any doubts heading into the album!
The final two tracks, ‘Jealous of Myself’ and ‘Last Time Last’, are the last two singles from the albums from last year, and both feature other amazing musicians. They’re the two tracks I’m most familiar with on the album, given that they came out not long before I saw and interviewed her at The Long Road last year (here). The former is a fantastic piano ballad and beautiful duet with LeAnn Rimes. The pair’s vocals compliment each others so well, and it’s another song that’s so very well written. Meanwhile, the latter is another great radio-country track featuring the wonderful Maddie & Tae. It’s another great single, and all three vocals pack one hell of a punch together. It’s another song that fits in so well with her back catalogue, and another that’s gonna be stuck in my head for days to come for the third or fourth time now. It’s a very good choice for a single, and a great way to close out the album.
Overall: I loved this! Being a big fan of her last couple of albums, I can safely say this is up there, or maybe even her best release yet. There isn’t a bad song on it, and yet it is chocked to the brim with highlights. The only slight issue with it is that a good half of the album we’ve already heard before over the last couple of years as singles. However, every single one of them is so good that it’s impossible to argue against releasing them in such a way. At a time where country is so massive, and when we’ve already had a handful of excellent country albums this year, this easily ranks up there in the top tier of them. It’s taken me three days to do this review as I keep having to go away and listen to the songs again and again, which I don’t often do. It’s a special release that is surely now going to push Tenille up to the top of the country landscape!
The Score: 9/10