I’m convinced that Birdie Nichols has a chance to make a deeper mark than most young modern talents.
WEBSITE: https://www.birdienichols.com/
Into the West makes it clear that the seventeen-year-old singer/songwriter has a head-spinning understanding of country music history. She plants her flag with several different stylistic variations over nine songs and tacks on an added variation as a final bonus track. Her chameleon gifts are obvious. Nichols seamlessly shifts from one mode to another without betraying any uncertainty or hesitation. Into the West boasts remarkably “live” performances radiating warmth, and full of potential for the stage. I am sure the track listing will provide a solid core for her set list for years to come.
“Into the West” starts the release and reveals her range. She has near acrobatic abilities to maneuver lyrics in an optimal fashion that further accentuates the track’s percussive attributes. Listening to her navigate her way through the track’s winding lines is pure pleasure and she doesn’t waver a single syllable. Her lyrics are a cut above average genre fare. Nichols inhabits this song like she does the remaining eight performances – with a sense of urgency and unfailing musicality.
Into the West leads off with an impressive opening combination. The second track “Tough as Diamonds” turns any expectations fostered by the title song on their head. It melds the best aspects of traditional Americana/roots music with a pop song temperament in a way that I believe has staying power. It has a surprising structure that plays to its multiple strengths. Another of Into the West’s marquee tracks arrives with the third cut. “Blue Lightning Ambush” is one of the album’s moments that allow Nichols to stake a claim as an unusual and highly personal voice in modern music.
There isn’t anything shattering or ground-breaking about the song’s arrangement. It’s more or less straight-ahead Americana with a faint rock spirit present in its mid-tempo pace. Where it finds its footing as a distinctly individual piece, however, is in the language and Nichols’ impressive interpretive powers. “Gunslinger” provides a similar moment. It has a definable sweep that the aforementioned track lacks, but nonetheless serves listeners an emotive arrangement tailored to the song’s western-themed lyrical content.
“Hell’s Canyon” has a moodier character than many of Into the West’s other tracks. It’s a story of survival and the wealth of specific details balanced against well-chosen generalities gives the cut particular power. Nichols’ vocal power never ceases to surprise me. The penultimate cut and an important single from the album, “Desert Lilies Blooming” hinges on that particular image for lyrical payoff. It’s another in a string of outstanding musical arrangements that enhances the song’s value for listeners.
Birdie Nichols’ Into the West offers a plethora of musical rewards for serious listeners. It isn’t an album you digest in full after a single pass and requires your attention to appreciate its myriad subtleties. Open your mind, and your heart, and I believe you’ll agree that Into the West is one of the most substantial roots music-themed releases in recent memory.
Chadwick Easton