Album Review – Emily Scott Robinson’s “American Siren”

The inequity between those that deserve the attention of the wide masses, and those that enjoy the attention of the wide masses is the eternal struggle at the heart of American music. And for the last few years, there may have not been a better representation of the unjust imbalance in this equation than the lack of attention being paid to singer and songwriter Emily Scott Robinson, both as a singer, and as a songwriter at the apex of these disciplines.
That’s beginning to change though, with Robinson being picked up by John Prine’s Oh Boy Records, and the immediate recognition that brings from the Americana world. Her protracted, but eventual rise is chronicled in the new song “Cheap Seats,” which preceded, and anchors her new record, the striking and emotionally involved American Siren.
From a certain perspective, many of the songs of American Siren fall within the standard American fare of thematic subject matter. There’s a song about a soldier returning from Afghanistan in “Hometown Hero,” there’s a song reminiscing on a summer love affair in “Lightning in a Bottle,” and there’s a song on the wisdom of age in “Things You Learn The Hard Way.”
On numerous occasions, Emily Scott Robinson also broaches the disillusionment with the American Dream, and the move towards agnosticism, which is sort of its own American music cliché, especially in the Americana realm. Numerous songs broach this theme specifically, including “If Trouble Comes A Lookin” about infidelity and a priest, and later “Let ‘Em Burn” and “Every Day in Faith,” which define the emotional depth of this work.
But Emily Scott Robinson is just composing on such elevated wavelengths of articulative insight and poetic delivery, her music is incapable of comparing to contemporaries or falling into platitude, forcing you to draw correlations with vaunted songwriting legends of the past as peers. She is undoubtedly one of the premier musical scribes of our time, turning what might be stereotypical country themes into emotionally stirring moments.

American Siren is an entangled, and at times, a somewhat unusual listening experience. The song “Cheap Seats” is a great and full-bodied country song with steel guitar, fiddle and the whole bit, but it’s a sonic outlier, and starkly so, on an album where cello often sets the musical palette for a song, making the experience unique and riveting to the ear, however understated many of the arrangements might be.
Laying underneath, and sometimes unspoken or hidden in allegory isn’t just a quiet desperation, but a bubbling rage. “Let ‘Em Burn” might be a solo piano ballad, but it has all the emotional outcry of a heavy metal song. Same goes for “Every Day in Faith.” One might mistake this album for a mostly religious work without unweaving its threads.
But the album isn’t all emotional roiling. Emily Scott Robinson might be one of the best singers in this era in roots music, from her warble and the way her voice naturally captures the emotion of a story, to the way you can actually hear a smile in her voice, underscored most perceptibly in the song “Things You Learn The Hard Way.”
And even though the austere arrangements may throw you off the scent somewhat, American Siren really is a country album thematically, and this is emphasized by the ending song, the acoustic and traditional “Old North State.”
There’s a lot happening on this record, and it may be one of those that we’re unable to fully grasp or measure until weeks or months have past. Just like all great songwriters, Emily Scott Robinson has enveloped the sentiments she wants to convey, and the lessons she wants to teach in layering and nuance. It takes time to peel back the layers of an onion, and often, many tears. Same goes for the elaborate American Siren.
9/10
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Purchase from Oh Boy Records
Purchase from Amazon
October 29, 2021 @ 9:44 am
Been waiting on this one. Good Lord is she good.
October 29, 2021 @ 10:01 am
I just love her. And am so happy this is finally out!
October 29, 2021 @ 10:26 am
I really miss the days of coming to this site for nothing but comedic value when you used to ABSOLUTELY bash pop/bro country. What happened to those articles? They still have a purpose.
October 29, 2021 @ 12:32 pm
Hey Hank,
Thanks for the question.
A few things:
1) With the onset of the pandemic, then the riots last summer, then the Presidential election, I made a concerted effort to not contribute as much to all the negativity out there in the world. I expected that to be a temporary thing. But I also expected all the negativity to be a temporary thing. I have, and still will post rants and funny stuff. The snark machine will definitely be up and running for the CMA Awards on November 10th. But I just feel like people need a break from all the culture war stuff. I hope to get back to more funny stuff in the future.
2) Believe it or not, mainstream country music has just been dramatically improving over the last few years, and there’s just significantly less to rant about or poke fun of. This is a good thing. Sure, there are still some garbage songs out there. But not nearly as many as in previous eras. Country music is being saved, slowly but surely.
3) As much as I love writing the rants and razzing on pop country, it some ways it had gone on to define Saving Country Music in a non-realistic way, especially on Facebook where negativity is emphasized in the algorithm, and all the positive coverage I do for music gets buried (like this review). It got to the point where some people thought all I did was post rants, even though at the height I was only posting maybe one or two a month. Again, I hope to do more of that stuff in the future, and I appreciate the folks who like to read it. But ultimately the goal here is to help artists like Emily Scott Robinson get the attention they deserve.
October 29, 2021 @ 1:54 pm
Spoken like a true Country Gentleman. There is already way to much negativity all over the social media and the internet in general as it is. I like to read about good Country music and about the joy of playing and listening to good Country music. Why any kind of bad music should get any kind of attention is beyond me. Personally I just ignore bad music as well as I ignore the bashing of it. Let the crap die in silence, and it will die when it is not the flavour of the month anymore. I think the way to save good music is to support good music – not to bash the bad.
October 29, 2021 @ 2:08 pm
I will say though, I do think there is value in criticizing mainstream music, as well as highlighting it when it’s good. You can’t save country music while ignoring the mainstream. But there needs to be priorities. On a day Emily Scott Robinson releases a new album, that’s what the priority should be.
October 30, 2021 @ 7:52 am
I totally agree with your priority, it’s a great album.
October 29, 2021 @ 12:00 pm
Im about halfway through my first listen….floored
October 29, 2021 @ 12:20 pm
Spent the first couple listens crying like I never do. That’s how I know it is a damn good album.
October 29, 2021 @ 12:27 pm
Really good. Her voice and delivery reminds me a lil bit like early Kacey Musgraves.. This is the type of album KM should be making.
October 29, 2021 @ 2:06 pm
Songwriting quality and delivery reminds me a lot of Lori McKenna.
First couple of songs kept a persistent lump in my throat. Album lost a little bit of steam for me around “Every Day in Faith”. But man, those first 6 tracks are as strong as you’ll find anywhere. Congrats to her.
October 29, 2021 @ 2:07 pm
Solid album all the way around. Let ’em Burn should be a song of the year contender.
October 29, 2021 @ 2:20 pm
Let em Burn has such restraint in the singing. She could’ve easily gone Ariana or even Adele with a song like that but she holds back on the vocal belting and it makes even more moving because you don’t get the release that belting brings.
October 29, 2021 @ 3:51 pm
Integrity , substance , and sheer talent . I’m hoping that the nursery rhymes filling the mainstream force people to say ‘enough’s enough” and start seeking out the artistic options again . This young lady has matured into a terrific writer and vocalist . THIS is the kind of talent you hope people will ache for when they tire of “Kardashian ” music .
October 29, 2021 @ 4:16 pm
This lady is amazing.
The album came out midnight Australian time so I was up all night listening to it.
Personally I think I prefer Traveling Mercies with its more positive attitude.
Especially she could have dialed back the agnosticism on If Trouble Comes A Calling. The last line was unnecessary and probably counter-productive to the cause. She could have just left them realising that sometimes you need to let go to clear out your life. Not totally go wild.
Maybe I’m overthinking it.
Anyway, its going to get high rotation in my life.
And agreed that she should be considered in the same context as any A level country artist
November 1, 2021 @ 8:38 am
I don’t think you’re over thinking it. I’m perfectly fine with faith or agnosticism in my music, as long as it’s authentic, and I generally love the song, but that last line is an odd one. There’s a beauty in it (in a way) on repeat listens but the first time I listened, I found it really jarring. And even finding it more tolerable in repeat listens it’s still one I think I would have left out or turned into an additional verse.
October 29, 2021 @ 5:22 pm
“Let ’em Burn” is what Alanis Morissette would sound like if she was country. This is an outstanding artist. Best wishes for her.
October 29, 2021 @ 7:46 pm
“What if desire is a gift and not a sin?
What if this could be the start and not the end?”
Questions as familiar as Eden.
October 29, 2021 @ 8:49 pm
So damn good. As a little rocker I appreciate the LE reference. Hometown hero wrecked me. Rooting for her her
October 30, 2021 @ 8:57 am
Emily Scott Robinson is the fucking best.
Not a whole lot more to say, haha!
October 31, 2021 @ 12:29 am
Didn’t hear it yet. Still waiting for my Vinyl Edition here in Germany. But her last record “Travelling Mercies” was so gorgeous, I don’t expect anything less than a fantastic album.
And her Joy, when she got the record deal, was so overwhelming…great artist!
October 31, 2021 @ 8:03 am
Hayes is back!!!
November 3, 2021 @ 12:44 am
By that last line in “If Trouble Comes a Lookin’” I take her to mean that his ideas of God will unravel so that he will become able to encounter God himself, beyond ideas which are always inadequate. In any case, it’s one possible meaning.
November 3, 2021 @ 12:45 am
Intended as a reply to Blackh4t’s comment above.
November 3, 2021 @ 9:50 am
Listened to the whole album and “Let ‘Em Burn” just moved me so much – even when she wasn’t singing. I was so glad to look this review back up and see how many felt similarly that it’s the standout.
In Trigger’s article, he remarked at the CMA nominees for Song of the Year and how lackluster they are this year. It’s hard for me to think that songs by ESR like “Let ‘Em Burn” or “The Dress” won’t join the canon as they rightfully should. I know awards don’t mean everything, but they do preserve recognition.
November 6, 2021 @ 6:58 am
Saw her last night at the Roasting Room in Bluffton. SC, and she blew the audience away. So much joy in the performance that its hard to describe. Wish her much success!