Review: Courtney Marie Andrews, Trinity – ‘The epitome of classic country’

It seems like only yesterday that Courtney Marie Andrews was hiding behind a fringe and a guitar case full of loneliness and heartbreak.

She was always alone on her stage, a one-woman, one-stop shop for the broken and busted.

Tonight the singer-songwriter from Arizona is a different proposition. She’s now eight albums old and, far from lonely, she’s flanked by three impeccable musicians.

They help turn the focus from acoustic introspection to a warm bath of country soul and, slightly, frazzled psych. They are slick and polished, smooth as a lucky stone.

Whether solo or with her bandmates, Andrews continues to be the epitome of classic country. Her voice is timeless, a slurred Americana angel, inhabited by the spirit of Emmylou and Lucinda.

On the title track of her latest album, Loose Future, she is relaxed and content. All of the doubts and difficulties seem to evaporate in the Arizona sun and, still, that voice cuts across it all.

These Are the Good Old Days continues the summer-y sleepiness, perfect for this “cold-ass week”.

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The first half of Andrews’ set unfolds with a sedate grace. On The Line and Burlap String are country songs that could be plucked from any era, dealing with all of the things that great country songs are supposed to deal with, in a voice that’s pure class.

It is only when the guitar is replaced by keys that things take a turn to a different side of town. The Americana gives way to something looser and sassier.

You Do What You Want has the stomp of a cowboy boot and the sway of a drunken roadhouse. Break the Spell starts slowly but builds in intensity and volume, all four determined to chase away the melancholy.

Irene, from May Your Kindness Remain, and Table for One, from Honest Life,  remain the standouts in a tremendous set but they are joined by a new song.

Satellite, taken from Loose Future, is one of unabashed, giddy love, a proper, cosmic folk-rocker that leaves the band grinning at the joyful noise that they’re making. It seems to jolt the whole band up a gear and kicks the acoustic gentleness into the long grass.

Suddenly the keys are funkier, the guitars just a bit louder. Me & Jerry sees Andrews behind the keyboard and absolutely ripping it up; her voice moving from tender, country sweetness to open hearted soul bearing. Yet this is just the precursor to something remarkable and unexpected.

A storming cover of The Bee Gees’ To Love Somebody – think James Carr rather than the palid Gibb brothers – has a sense of fun and celebration oozing from every inch. Andrews emerged, grinning and breathless. The transformation was complete.

Main photo: Gavin McNamara

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