Tift Merritt

Tift Merritt has flirted with the big time a bit; her first two records were on alt-country powerhouse label, Lost Highway, but they never really gave any substantial efforts in plugging her into the mainstream pop-stardom she's deserved. She's been linked with Emmylou Harris and Alison Krauss, both first-rate stars olthe genre themselves, but despite the hours logged in her music career, she has still remained under the female-country-singer-songwriter radar in terms of any mainstream success. 2008 could (and should be her year), as Another Country is a gem.

One could argue that there is nothing much in terms of a new sound here, but at this point, folksy/rootsy-based music centered around acoustic guitars is standard Americana flair that has proved hard (and perhaps detrimental) to deviate from. That said, Merritt goes back and forth between slow, folk-inspired ballads and more hard-hitting, southern-rock styles, but never reaching the over-produced "Nashville" style of 2004's Tambourine. If anything, Another Country is a marriage of the range of country styles Merrit has drawn on throughout her career, but this alt-country banquet comes off as a far more fluid, modern approach to the traditional sound she tends to favor.

What separates Another Country from your average, run-of-the-mill singer-songwriter fare is Merritt's vocal delivery, which is one of effortless maturity, where she is not afraid to show how multi-faceted her persona is. Within the notes she describes that the majority of the material was developed while she purposely holed herself up in Paris, a place way outside her comfort zone. With an unpretentious ease, Merritt convincingly shows us she is quite skilled in conveying complex emotions, a skill that any contemporary country performer would love to be able to do.

Throughout, Merritt is constantly looking forward, while simultaneously trying to let go. She's wrestling with loss, coping with what's next in life. The quiet ballad "Keep You Happy," accented with a soft drum beat and gorgeous string arrangement, sees Merritt struggling with acceptance. The uplifting "I Know What I'm Looking For Now" confidently asserts this notion, with her voice exhaling a gorgeous optimism. And as she's done in the past, the southern soul sound of "Tell Me Something True" shows she has a playful side, pairing a nice horn section with a '60s-style tempo.

Yet it's the title track that's the real mover. Starting with a simple piano progression, the song introduces Merritt's voice before giving way to a simple drum arrangement with a pedal steel. She simply states "Love Is Another Country." The refrain doesn't really sound prophetic at first, but when she reveals her confusion, her relentless pursuit of the nearly unattainable, the "another country" metaphor starts to take many twists. It's a love song that's so utterly convincing, you can only be thankful you're currently not engulfed with these sentiments.

Listening to Another Country, it's easy to realize we've probably all experienced the same pain, the same confusion, the longings, the sleepless nights and the scary notion of facing the next chapter. Merritt's just gone ahead and packaged it into a gorgeous collection of songs for all of us.

—Michael D. Ayers
03.06.08

It took Tift Merritt four years, a label change, and a sojourn to Paris, where she knew virtually no one and didn't speak the language, to craft her third release. She recounts the Paris part of the story in the liner notes and the explanation clarifies both the disc's title and reflective, personal songs such as "I Know What I'm Looking for Now" ("this world will mix you up and bring you down, but I know what I'm looking for now"). Producer George Drakoulias returns from her last album, as does most of her touring band, but the sound is more muted and less insistent than on the Dusty in Memphis styled Tambourine. When horns do finally enter the picture on track eight, it seems like the Stax styled "Tell Me Something True" is a Tambourine leftover. Electric guitars are handled by ringers Charlie Sexton and Doug Pettibone but both stay on low boil for the majority of the disc, finally letting loose on "My Heart Is Free" near the end. The stripped down sound, reliance on ballads and mid-tempo strummers such as the opening "Something to Me" gives these songs, and especially Merritt's luxurious vocals, room to breathe. They marinate in their comfy country-folk strum, unconcerned about making a strong first impression, but rather letting their melodic and lyrical charms seep in gradually. The singer's voice seems more fragile and sensitive than in the past but that suits the introspective nature of these 11 originals well. The notes make clear that the material was largely composed on piano, which explains the keyboard oriented sound underpinning the lovely title track and many of the slower tunes that dominate the set. There's a sense of exhaling through the spaces on these songs, as if the sessions were a return to a less stressful approach. That fits the material, and especially Merritt's velvety vocals, perfectly. When all the elements combine, such as on the lilting "Morning Is My Destination" where Merritt's voice connects with the more soulful aspects of the song, punctuated by gospel organ and stinging guitar fills, the effect is stunning. The closing cabaret ballad "Mille Tendresses," sung in French, is a natural coda to an album that is not an obvious progression in Tift Merritt's career, but one that comes from the heart and sounds it. Sometimes you have to look backward to move forward, which makes Another Country ring with a personal touch. It resonates with emotion, tenderness, and a sense that she has found comfort in life and her songwriting that may have been missing before. ~ Hal Horowitz, All Music Guide