Pins and Needles (Fantasy, 2021)
Natalie Hemby
Reviewed by Dan MacIntosh
The best track is "Hardest Part About Business," which is built upon a stomping Appalachian groove, colored by persistent banjo and down home guitar. "The hardest part about business," Hemby tells us on it, "is minding your own." Hemby wrote the ghost-y "Banshee with Lambert," which features her whistling on its intro. Hemby wrote with another high-profile collaborator (Morris) on "Heart Condition," and again with Lambert for "It Takes One To Know One."
Hemby says she was inspired by early '90s rock, as well as artists like Tom Petty and Sheryl Crow for the sound and content of this, her second solo album. For much of it, Hemby comes off saucy and confident. However, she finishes on a vulnerable note with "Last Resort," one of the album's quieter inclusions. "Pins and Needles" is by no means some kind of songwriter's indulgent solo project. No, Natalie Hemby deserves the whole spotlight, and proves it with each and every song.
CDs by Natalie Hemby
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