Album Review – Shawna Thompson’s “Lean On Neon”
#510.3 and #580.3 (Hard Country, Classic Outlaw Country) on the Country DDS.
Well deep fry my okra. You want country? You damn well better, and bring your appetite, because Shawna Thompson is serving up heaping helpings of it here. There’s no shrinkflation in twang happening in Shawna Thompson’s universe. There’s more country packed into this thing per square inch then perhaps any other release in the last year. You might want to sequester this album from the rest of your catalog because it just might submit your Celine Dion records with a rear naked choke when you’re not looking.
Maybe you remember Shawna Thompson from her time in the country pop duo Thompson Square with her husband Kiefer. But trust me, you’ve never heard Shawna Thompson like this before. It’s fair to wonder if anybody actually ever heard Shawna Thompson previously. Sure, we all heard her singing. But that wasn’t Shawna Thompson. That’s what she had to become to keep the lights on and make the suits happy. This is what Shawna Thompson actually sounds like. And ladies and gentlemen, it’s Country.
The truth of the matter is that you really never know what so many of the mainstream major label country artists would sound like if it was up to them and you were able to peel the veneer back, especially the performers who were coming up when Thompson Square was. Many artists show up to Nashville with the best of intentions and full of genuine country influences. And then the big machine gobbles them up and spits out terrible radio singles.
Let’s not completely razz on Thompson Square since some of their early stuff was still pretty good. But the moment a performer stops chasing superstardom and just starts being themselves, this is when you find some of the greatest work in their catalog. Lean on Neon certainly qualifies as one of those releases born out of creative freedom.
You really can’t emphasize enough just how hardcore country this album is, and across every single track. It’s so country in fact, it may open itself up to some criticism for being a little too “one note,” or lacking variety between tracks. But it’s so staunch and severe in it’s conviction to country music, this constitutes its own form of bold creative expression. There aren’t any of those silly country songs that call out pop country music. This album simply puts its foot down and declares adamantly, “This is country.”
There’s drinking songs, there’s heartbreak songs, and Shawna Thompson wrote or co-wrote seven of the album’s 13 tracks. She also threw in a couple of obvious covers like Hank Jr’s “Outlaw Women.” Yes, this album is so attitudinal in its country music posture, there’s a few songs that you could place in the Outlaw country category too.
Shawna also embraces some legends and contemporaries of country music through the album, collaborating with Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, Pam Tillis, Jim Lauderdale, Rhonda Vincent, Leona Williams, Leslie Satcher on a couple of songs, along with Sunny Sweeney and Ashton Shepherd on “Outlaw Women.” Though the album does have a rather static sound and approach throughout, the harmony and instrumental features do offer some really nice texturing for each song.
But the story this album tells goes much deeper than the music. Shawna Thompson says, “Lean On Neon is the album I moved to Nashville to create. It just took a while.” This is the story of so many mainstream country music performers. Many never get the opportunity to make the album they moved to Nashville to make. Lucky for her and the rest of us, Shawna Thompson did, and made the most of it.
1 3/4 Guns Up (8.2/10)
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Purchase/Stream Shawna Thompson’s Lean On Neon
Roberto Trevizan
September 13, 2024 @ 6:43 am
One of the biggest positive surprises of this year. I really liked the album. Lean On Neon is such a common and overused story in country, but it’s incredible how it was written and sung in a completely different way that made me listen to it several times already. We know it’s not an album that will attract millions of plays on streaming, but you can see that it’s something that Shawna and Real Country lovers will really appreciate. As I read she did this album to honor her father.
Loretta Twitty
September 13, 2024 @ 7:04 am
Wow, I wasn’t a big fan of TS. I really love what I am hearing w/ Shawna. Thanks for this review!
SIXoneEIGHTcreekrat
September 13, 2024 @ 8:16 am
Great album, and I think the production nails it. Classic country the way it actually sounds, not draped with cobwebs to sound like we remember it filtered through a dusty needle and crappy AM radio.
Kevin Smith
September 13, 2024 @ 9:21 am
Count me pleasantly tickled by this. Never paid attention to Thompson Square admittedly. This is pretty good stuff. The fact that Skaggs, Gill and Vincent are in on this speaks volumes to me. I suspect the album will be ignored by mainstream entirely, but that will surprise no one. Question, is there a sizable Thompson fanbase to support her? Or is she essentially starting over again? I’m thinking of other gals of recent who have made trad albums, and many of them still play bars and mostly small venues. Does she have an advantage in name recognition, where she could potentially fill the 1000 plus capacity venues? Clearly the talents there and assuming she puts together a first rate band, there’s no reason why she couldn’t resonate with more traditionally minded folks. And I’m certain many Ameripolitan folks and SCM readers will like it.
Trigger
September 13, 2024 @ 10:18 am
She’s pretty much starting over. Thompson Square kind of fizzled, though they had some great traction in their day.
Tom Smith
September 13, 2024 @ 9:31 am
Her opening for Marty Stuart would be a killer show.
Jozum
September 13, 2024 @ 9:38 am
Call me impressed! I met her and hubby when I was still a jock. very nice and down-to-earth and I liked their music and was always pulling for them. This record is as good as I’ve heard. Love the production, writing…it is as traditional a country album for 2024…and her voice is excellent. Harkens me back to early Leann Womack a bit. Bama Clay just slaps! The acapella/harmonies…whooooo dogggggggie!
Tom
September 14, 2024 @ 5:04 am
…it has that lee ann womack vibe, hasn’t it?
Jozum
September 14, 2024 @ 7:50 am
I think so. I really like this record! 🙂
Janice Brooks
September 13, 2024 @ 10:14 am
Adding here
Joe Johnson
September 13, 2024 @ 10:51 am
Did she divorce her husband? Is he doing solo music too?
CJ Ellis
September 13, 2024 @ 12:33 pm
I believe they are still married and he actually produced this album.
CJ Ellis
September 13, 2024 @ 12:44 pm
Excellent album. Jones On the Jukebox was originally recorded by Becky Hobbs and is my sign that Shawna Thompson has great taste in not just her country music, but specifically her honky tonk music.
Denis
September 13, 2024 @ 8:40 pm
This. This album is pure perfection. From the first note of “Yes Ma’am (He Found Me In A Honky Tonk)”, I was hooked. I had an aha! moment hearing the duet with Pam Tillis because the first few songs I heard reminded me of Pam Tillis in the “Don’t Tell Me What To Do” days.
I was a sort of fan of Thompson Square. I owned their first few albums. But, man, oh man…this album has me as a certified fan! The only sad part of the album is I can’t call up my father up and tell him about it. He was who gave me the love of country.
Stellar
September 13, 2024 @ 10:40 pm
BECKY HOBBS is one of the best underrated artists of the 90’s/00’s. Long before there was a modern “independent country movement” there were a whole bunch of ladies doing incredible hard country such as becky, Heather Myles, and a bunch of the ladies that were on the A Town South Of Bakersfield cowpunk/LA country compilations that Peter Anderson put together in the 90s
Tom
September 14, 2024 @ 5:02 am
…a country album? there you have it! great stuff from miss thompson. then again, hasn’t “are you gonna kiss me or not” been one of the coolest love songs in modern mainstream country music.
as if i needed another favorite album of the year contender (in a soul food sense) in my book this year…
Scott S.
September 14, 2024 @ 6:44 am
Despite this being mentioned here before I kind of overlooked it when it was released. Just gave it a quick sample listening. Some good stuff here, and some classic covers. One minor nitpick, the vocals are a little bit forward in the production. Otherwise a solid album I’m going to have to give a full listen to. Thanks.
kross
September 14, 2024 @ 9:08 am
good stuff. a few days ago I would have said this should be the female artist album of the year.
and then Miranda dropped her new album last Friday. I don’t think that anymore.
Paul Davidson
September 14, 2024 @ 4:12 pm
I have been listening to this girl sing songs like this since she was knee high to a jack rabbit! Her daddy, her and our entire family, when we were all together would sit out on the carport and play and sing traditional country music! We knew this was inside her and are so proud of her and Keith! Love this album and knew as soon as I heard it, that it was gonna be a great album when it was finally released! Super proud of Shawna! Also so happy that Keith supports her in this and is probably her biggest Fan!
MD
September 14, 2024 @ 7:25 pm
Talk about the country album I didn’t know I needed, lol. Thank you SCM for making me aware of this honky tonker. Great spin all the way through!
Daniele
September 15, 2024 @ 10:36 am
i didn’t dislike Thompson Square way back but then kinda forgot about them. But this is an unexpected killer album.
Todd Villars
September 15, 2024 @ 7:42 pm
Well if the songs on here are any indication of what the whole album sounds like count me in on this one. This is good stuff, saw Thompson Square once about 15 years ago but they didn’t sound like this!
Josh Calahan
September 16, 2024 @ 7:08 pm
I’m loving this album.
Tom A.
September 19, 2024 @ 9:46 am
“Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not” was one of the most charming country love songs of the early 2010s, I’ve got a lot of goodwill for Thompson Square
Glad to see Shawna still putting out the kind of music she wants to make now, really impressive stuff
HardRNothin
September 20, 2024 @ 9:49 am
I came here to find the history of Shawna after hearing “Bama Clay” and searching on socials. I’m in tears of joy this was reviewed for this audience. As the kids say, this album SLAPS.
DoubleJ
September 21, 2024 @ 8:50 pm
This is awesome! Holy smokes, Just listen to those guitars!