Brandy Clark Reveals The Pain Behind The Smile In “12 Stories”
Who knew that women could suffer from quiet desperation just as potently as men? Sure, maybe that theme has been touched on with subtle shades here and there in country music over the years, but rarely has it been delved into with such honesty, or been portrayed in such a moving manner as songwriting maestro Brandy Clark does in her breakout album 12 Stories.
The hidden dystopia seething under the smile of sweet suburban life, and the general dysfunction plaguing any and all affairs of the heart is the broken-minded madness that Brandy taps into with this album, following fed up and frustrated fraus who are willing to medicate themselves and match the misdeeds of their men sin for glorious sin. Frail, turbulent, vengeful, but still somehow empowered and held together by the strength and perseverance of womanhood, the heroins of Brandy Clark’s 12 Stories are as inspiring as they are shameful, and tragic as they are real.
Brandy Clark is a fast-rising songwriting commodity of the country music world to say the least. In a genre and time where a couple of lucrative songwriting credits can make you as hot of a topic as any, just as a lack thereof can label you forgotten, Brandy Clark, like some other female songwriters in country before her in 2013, proves that taking songwriting approach to getting noticed by the suits is the much more savory way to make your name than the performance realm and its plastic reality.
Brandy’s songwriting credits are considerable, and include Miranda Lambert’s “Mama’s Broken Heart,” The Band Perry’s “Better Dig Two,” Kacey Musgraves’ “Follow Your Arrow,” and Wade Bowen’s anti-hit “Trucks.” Brandy is firmly ensconced in a close, songwriting circle that includes Kacey Musgraves, songwriter Shane McAnally, and a few select others. However she weaseled or worked her way into her current position, she is part of country music’s 2013 female songwriting revolution, painting in themes and colors that are counter-intuitive to Music Row’s tried and true tropes.
This album has what might be fair to portray as an “instant classic,” though it’s not likely to sniff the top of the country charts anytime soon. The song is called “Stripes” (see below), and it defines the keen sense of the female condition that Brandy Clark brings to her music that sets her apart from the fold. Because of the commercial implications, “Get High” might receive the most attention, and though it may be a little too obvious to a critical ear, the cunning lyricism is nonetheless noticeable, as it is in songs like “What’ll Keep Me Out of Heaven” and “The Day She Got Divorced.” The final track “Just Like Him” is the real gem of 12 Stories, swimming in heartbreak and emotional potency.
There aren’t a ton of criticisms to lob at Brandy Clark and 12 Stories but there are a few; the first being the similarities in themes to Kacey Musgraves and her own breakout album, Same Trailer, Different Park. This is to be expected, seeing how Clark and Musgraves have worked together so intimately, but it makes 12 Stories feel like the second album instead of the first. Songs that like to try to reveal the farce of suburban life, the drug and pill references, how the song’s characters have a careless, almost arrogant, “I don’t give a shit what the world thinks” tone begin to wear their own grooves of predictability, despite residing out of Nashville’s beaten path. A few years ago, a marijuana reference in a country song was scandalous. Now it is passe, and can’t be the only thing a song is constructed around unless the song’s sole purpose is to sell.
The music on 12 Stories is also similar to Musgraves, though this isn’t necessarily a criticism. Progressive and at times rhythmic, with dalliances in traditional country instrumentation and sparseness. Sonically the album is sensible, and you find yourself spending much more attention on the words than the music—a good sign for a songwriter’s album.
The other important observation about 12 Stories is that very similarly to some Pistol Annies and Miranda Lambert material, this album could appeal very differently to the respective genders. Ladies will love it, while some men will look at it a little sideways. Somewhere deep in this music is enough truth that men who listen deeply will discover something to relate to, but I’m not sure it’s fair to judge a man if he is unable to find it. This album is steeped in a women’s perspective, and is quite harsh on its male characters.
Many have 12 Stories on their short list for “album of the year” and such. That is a very fair and understandable take, but I’m not sure I’m willing to go there, at least not yet. Nonetheless, Brandy Clark does a very commendable job telling her 12 Stories, and you would be wise to listen.
1 ¾ of 2 guns up. 4 of 5 stars.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
October 22, 2013 @ 9:35 am
I can’t for the life of me figure out why ‘Stripes’ isn’t being played on the radio. As you mentioned she is a hot songwriter and would seem to be on track to be the 2014 version of Kacey Musgraves. The aversion to female artists in country music is frankly far more offensive than country rap in my opinion if for no other reason than it doesn’t make any sense.
October 22, 2013 @ 9:52 am
I agree.
October 22, 2013 @ 10:30 am
After streaming this album on NPR’s ‘First Listen’ last week, I pre-ordered it on Amazon.
I’m guessing that Brandy — who’s only a year or two older than I am — probably grew up on a lot of the same country that I did. Indeed, when listening to these songs, I couldn’t help but be reminded of why I got into the genre in the first place.
October 22, 2013 @ 10:35 am
I discovered Brandy Clark watching The Marty Stuart Show last year. She also appeared at his Late Night Jam the last June. Stripes is a great song, love the chorus. I agree with the comment in the similarity to Kacey Musgraves, they have written together quite a bit. It’s just so refreshing to here the instrumentation, vocals and lyrics without being yelled at and over produced. I’ll take Brandy, Kacey, and Ashley any day over Carrie, Taylor and The Band Perry.
October 22, 2013 @ 12:38 pm
She looks like Lisa Marie Presley. Kacey Musgraves is more aesthetically pleasing, which is probably why she took off quickly.
October 22, 2013 @ 3:09 pm
I’m with you there, although I detect a hint of Trisha Yearwood in her looks.
Another note: her singing style and attitude in this video reminds me of mid-90s Wynonna Judd for some reason.
October 22, 2013 @ 1:22 pm
This is the album I’ve been waiting for all year.
October 22, 2013 @ 1:23 pm
Even though Kacey Musgraves is far more likely to have the larger name recognition of the two because she has more stage presence and personality, I actually prefer “12 Stories” a bit over “Same Trailer, Different Park”.
Though both albums are solid, make no mistake………..I couldn’t help but be a little less enthusiastic compared to the peer average on Musgraves’ record because while she without doubt has many fresh ideas and perspectives that will make country music far more enjoyable and listenable, I nonetheless felt that the production on a number of tracks was a little too lukewarm (Luke Laird, indeed, produced the album) and to be frank, you can tell Musgraves is still coming into her own after releasing three predecessors where she had minimal control as a recording artist and consist of some rather embarrassing material at points. Some of the lyrics on songs like “Step Off”, “Blowin’ Smoke” and “Stupid” can’t help but sound amateurish, and knowing all the material she had preceding her sessions with Laird, I have no doubt she could have easily had a superior album to this solid, though slightly overrated, effort.
Those kind of moments also come up on “12 Stories”, though less often in my view. I also think Clark does a better job at articulating the humor in some of these grim situations, in addressing the dark side of a rural lifestyle without losing the listener along the way.
I’ll certainly understand if “Same Trailer, Different Park” ranks higher on numerous year-end lists than “12 Stories” because Musgraves is a more exciting, outspoken personality to behold. That said, it will be the other way around with me (even though both are solid, admirable efforts that both bring out the best in the modern genre)
October 22, 2013 @ 1:28 pm
I forgot to mention that the production on “12 Stories”, too, would have benefited from being more eclectic much like “Same Trailer, Different Park”………….even though I do concur that it was probably intentionally sparser so that all the attention would be turned to Clark herself.
That holds “12 Stories” back from getting a perfect score. However, I’d probably give this four and a half stars out of five, while I gave “Same Trailer, Different Park” four out of five.
October 22, 2013 @ 4:02 pm
Agreed, for the most part. As much as I like Kacey’s album, I thought it dragged in a few places, especially in the middle; Brandy’s album, on the other hand, strikes me as more cohesive and consistent.
October 29, 2013 @ 3:48 pm
Agreed.
October 22, 2013 @ 7:32 pm
I was hoping you’d review this one. Didn’t expect it so quick.
October 23, 2013 @ 10:46 am
Love the guitars on this album
October 25, 2013 @ 4:58 am
Man, trigger, we agree on most things, but I just don’t get it. Granted, I only listened to “Stripes” because that’s the song everyone is raving over. Sure, it’s catchy and I like the woozy guitar chords. But killing the cheating guy is like female version of the “tailgates, beer cans and daisy duke” obsession on the male side of the fence. Dixie chicks started it with Kill Earl and man, its old and tired. Where is the substance? Is that really, as an artist, what she has to SAY? Sure it’s a clever little twist…well I’m tired of country music being CLEVER. At least Shovels & Rope had the balls to go fully dark and twisted on this theme with “Shake Hill Street.” Give me Samantha Crain or Sage Meadows any day over this trite, mediocre, forget about it in ten seconds drivel. Those girls – and Cary Ann, for that matter – know how to use lyrics, music and their voice together to punch through your surface clever bullshit and grab hold of your soul, you feel their pain and you feel your own, long after the song has ended.
October 25, 2013 @ 9:18 am
You really should give a listen to the entire thing. It still may not be your cup of tea, but listening to the lead single a suit picked out is never the best way to judge an artist. And I’m not saying there isn’t stuff better than this. It did not receive my top grade, and I had some critical things to say about it. At the same time, I expect to see it at the top or near the top of many people’s “Best Albums” of 2013.
November 7, 2014 @ 8:00 am
The song is actually about why she DIDN’T kill the guy.
And Stripes has one of the best opening lines ever written:
You were lying there with nothing on
But a goofy little grin and a platinum blond
I can’t believe you’d do that on our bed
November 6, 2013 @ 8:21 pm
Wow, haven’t had a chance to listen to Brandy before. She is the first so-called country female voice that I’ve listened to in a long time that didn’t make me gag or hit the mute or force me to plug my ears and sing la la la lal la……… if trapped in a store with T. Swift playing . She actually has a voice and can sing.
July 3, 2016 @ 9:17 am
We are kind of reverse fans. We see who is coming to Atlanta. If it’s someone who we might slightly interested in we check them out on Spotify and YouTube. If we’re intrigued we buy tickets and continue to listen on Spotify until we make a purchase decision. If we are sold, we buy the tickets and as much of the artist’s catalogue as we see fit.
We were considering Brandy’s concert here in August when our lives got temporarily disrupted by a (not unexpected) death in the family. The dust has settled and we got back to looking into her show last night. We listened to the song Big Day in a Small Town and Hungover and 1) bought the tickets, 2) bought both albums and 3) had both albums on all of the relevant devices within an hour. The minor nits you pick are valid, but I just cannot stop playing 12 Stories. The fact that several of the songs off that album weren’t radio hits pretty much says it all.
Good review.