Love, Heartbreak & Everything in Between (Reviver Music, 2020)
Tenille Arts
Reviewed by Jeff Lincoln
The title may be a little too precocious. "Love, Heartbreak & Everything in Between" promises a real mish-mash. Truth be told, it's a heaping helping of heartbreak and a couple of miscellanea other subjects along the way. For example, there's the aw-shucks one about mama, "Call You Names." That track and the intimate vibe of "Butterfly Effect" are sentimental gems, worthy of a listen. Arts is targeting a modern pop-sound and chases it most often with a co-writing team. That's a good call because the self-penned tunes ("Another Life") can drag melodically.
Oftentimes, you feel like Arts is holding something in reserve and can sing much "bigger" than she does on a good bunch of the set. That really turns out to be the case by the time the zany, sky-high energy of "Wouldn't You Like to Know" arrives. It's additionally arguable that the video/singles (particularly with "I Hate This") weren't the best picks. "Somebody Like That" isn't charmless, but sure sounds like a mild case of identity theft on Keith Urban's similar hit ("Somebody Like You").
Arts has certifiable gifts to make her way onto the U.S. country scene, but this record probably won't be the roadmap that gets her there. It's a likeable-enough early effort, though, with suggestions of things to come. If everything else fails, she can always fall back on her doubly-famous name.
CDs by Tenille Arts
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