Lillie Mae - Forever and Then Some (2017)

This is one of my favourite albums from recent years. When I was writing my top 10 albums list for 2017 I had only just discovered this album, so I didn't rate it as highly as I would now. In the last few years, I've really been into modern country music. Country music has a bad reputation amongst most people in Europe, probably because of all the absurd "patriotic" cowboy artists and bands out there in the US. But once you find the right artists, you'll find out there are some absolute jewels within the genre. This is one of the best country albums that I've ever heard. Lillie Mae started performing live already when she was 3 years old and she's played guitar and fiddle from very young age. Before her solo career she performed on Jack White's solo records and on The Raconteurs album. Her solo stuff outperforms both of those projects in my opinion. Especially Forever and Then Some, which so far is her best piece of work.
The first thing that stands out from Lillie Mae's music is the absolutely masterful fiddle playing. She has amazing mastery of the instrument. I do really like her vocals as well. They're very appropriate for this type of Americana music. And I can't leave off the songwriting capabilities. The songs have absolutely brilliant melodies. This is the kind of music that has absolutely nothing artificial. It's all in the talent of the musicians to conjure up these beautiful sounds. 

The album begins with the song Over the Hill and Through the Woods. This song is perhaps closer to many modern alternative folk rock bands' style than traditional country music, but there are already some indications of the sounds yet to come, such as the beautiful fast mandolin. Honky Tonks and Taverns brings in proper Americana country sound with slide guitars and everything. I really love the chorus melody. The fiddle solo towards the end of the song is absolutely amazing. Wash Me Clean takes on a bit slower mood in a ballad that has a beautiful soaring folk fiddle. The song is beautifully constructed. Loaner slows things down even more. The quieter mood gives more space to Mae's vocals allowing me to appreciate the soft tones of her voice better. Honest and True keeps the tempo down, but the electric guitars bring a certain piercing something in the song that makes it sound a bit bigger. There's a fantastic solo phase with pizzicato fiddle and mandolin ticking along. These Daze is proper bluegrass bliss. The fiddle sounds amazing again and the song is rolling along really fantastically. The title track Forever and Then Some is led by beautiful mandolin lines and Mae's vocals sound better than ever singing those higher notes with nasal falsetto that really show all her talent as a vocalist. Nearing Home has some fantastic vocal harmonies. This song reminds me of some countrier songs of The Cardigans. To Go Wrong is another bluegrass hoedown, but it has a fantastic melancholic tone upon it. Some Fine Day takes on a more traditional sounding country style. It's perhaps the most easily forgettable song on the album. The album ends with Dance to the Beat of My Own Drum, which sounds quite different from the rest of the album. This is probably due to the almost funky rhythm of the song and the slowly starting qualities of the song.

The music video for Wash Me Clean shows mostly the band performing the song and Mae playing her guitar on a graffitied van that I'm guessing is meant for touring. It's an absolute pleasure watching the talent in the band when they play. Also, there's a scene where the drummer is holding a dog so that it seems like the dog is playing drums. Despite of the video being quite simple, it's beautifully shot.

If the live music will be back for us to enjoy safely any time in the future, Lillie Mae is one of the artists I would most be looking forward to seeing live. Her and her band's talent is just exceptional and I bet they would sound even more brilliant live than from an album. For now though, I have to settle this absolutely brilliant album.

Listen to the album on Spotify.