Album Review: Aubrie Sellers’ ‘New City Blues’

There is a lot of interest in the debut album from Aubrie Sellers. For starters, she is the daughter of Lee Ann Womack and Jason Sellers. Throw in the fact that her step-father, Frank Liddell, is one of Nashville’s hottest producers, thanks to his work with Miranda Lambert, and to say there is curiosity surrounding this disc is putting it mildly.

That being said, Aubrie Sellers is very much her own person as a musical artist. Now, that’s not to say that on some tracks on this disc, such as the more traditional-focused “Something Special” or “Losing Ground,” she doesn’t bare some vocal similarities to her mom. After all, what’s that saying about the apple not falling too far from the tree? On these tracks, she manages to convey that same stunning sense of range and emotions that Womack puts into her music.

But, that’s just half of the story. Liddell is wise to frame Sellers in a different stylistic surroundings on much of this album, and it’s a wise move. Tracks like “Paper Doll,” “Liar Liar,” and “Sit Here and Cry” all have an undeniable swagger that could be just as home in a Rock club as opposed to a Country surrounding. However, once Sellers opens her mouth, you know this is, at the very least, an artist with her roots based in traditional sounds. Her twang simply can not be hidden. From a historical standpoint, what Liddell does with her in arrangements is comparable to Billy Sherrill’s use of strings with George Jones some four decades ago – it only accentuates the Country element of her talent.

The lyrical content on this disc runs the emotional gamut, with “Light Of Day,” “The Humming Song,” and “Living Is Killing Me” each detailing a side of life that isn’t quite so rosy. “Magazines” and “People Talking” (easily the masterpiece of the record) show a woman trying to pay no attention to the whispers that surround her life – or anyone else’s. She rises to the musical occasion time in and time out, with “Dreaming In The Day” tipping the hat to Rosanne Cash, and her vocals just being absolutely flawless and piercing on the memorable “Like The Rain.”

New City Blues – unfortunately – probably isn’t going to find a home on mainstream Country radio. I have a feeling that wasn’t her or Liddell’s aim, but this is one of those discs that if you have an open mind to music and don’t think in terms of a 4×4 box, I think you’re going to dig this one – a lot!