To listen to Beth Hart's music is to know her. Pouring her experiences into songs that reflect the daily emotional roller coaster of living with bipolar in an increasingly turbulent world, there’s a level of necessity to her songwriting that moves beyond simply processing complex feelings. More than ever, music feels like her salvation on this thrill ride of a record.
Hart decided to prioritise her mental health over doing any promotion for ‘You Still Got Me’, the 11th album of her career. In truth, she didn’t need to give a single interview to discuss the impetus behind it — everything we need to know and understand is perfectly encapsulated within its eloquent songs.
Featuring howling guitar from Slash, Saviour With A Razor almost resembles something from his 1995 Snakepit effort ‘It’s Five O’ Clock Somewhere’.
If he’d collaborated on that record with Alice Cooper, that is. It’s an explosive way to begin an album that deftly counterbalances individual empowerment with understanding the incalculable value of support systems.
Whether pinballing between being enraged, disconsolate, vulnerable or elated, every song here exudes intensity as Hart’s huge musical vocabulary, in tandem with Kevin Shirley’s cinematic production and the delightful instrumental flourishes of the band he’s assembled, allows her broad and disparate feelings to be painted with deft strokes.
Although delivering a whirlwind of eclectic moods, everything hangs together thanks to strong songwriting, Hart’s presence and her once-in-a-generation voice. Suga N’ My Bowl, which showcases Eric Gales’ super-cool fretwork, is Deep Purple trying to out-swagger Led Zeppelin, while Drunk On Valentine’s swooning tale of love resurrects the sunset romanticism of early Tom Waits. Wanna Be Big Bad Johnny Cash is a cracking aspirational country romp and Pimp Like That channels Nina Simone at her hypnotic, foreboding best.
The perky Parisian jazz strains of Never Underestimate A Gal, which flips the script of Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue’s Where The Wild Roses Grow upside down, might seem playful but it’s an allegorical tale about retrieving your power from a seemingly overwhelming foe. Don’t Call The Police was penned about the murder of George Floyd, and it is a harrowing collision of trauma and simmering fury that extends its narrative scope to deal with the singer’s ambivalence toward modern America and the feeling of being let down by people who are meant to protect you.
Hart is nothing if not a realist. She knows life will always be a struggle and there’ll never be a Hollywood ending. But throughout this album she draws beauty and connection from bleakness and loneliness. As such, Machine Gun Vibrato doesn’t close proceedings on a light, fluffy note. Instead, it finds her storming into the dark, brandishing a flaming sword to light the way.
Beth Hart Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Thu November 28 2024 - POOLE Lighthouse Centre
Sat November 30 2024 - BRIGHTON Brighton Dome
Tue February 18 2025 - BRISTOL Beacon Hall, Bristol Beacon
Thu February 20 2025 - LONDON Eventim Apollo
Sat February 22 2025 - COVENTRY Warwick Arts Centre
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