Lindi Ortega – Liberty
Soundly Music – 25 May 2018
Canadian country songstress Lindi Ortega leads us “through the dust” with Liberty, a compelling and adroit nod to many song forms once dominated by men, now reclaimed to tell the story of her own resurrection. With its Spaghetti Western overtones and Opry undertones, Ortega blends the dark and the light without stumbling too far into either. Liberty samples long untouched art forms and taps into long untouched feelings. A gem of emotional candour, Liberty is a strong and distinct voice within Ortega’s discography.
Ortega has long leaned upon her unique, trembling soprano timbre. With vocals so utterly piercing, modest country ballads like 2012’s “Cigarettes and Truckstops” become twinkling odes to past loves. But, Liberty, soaked in reverb, forces Ortega’s vibrato to melt into the background. Building off the rawness of her last album, out from behind the veil of those vocals, Ortega’s real voice can shine through: the voice of a girl lost in the dark, who envisions herself the hero of her own underdog tale.
Songs like “Afraid of the Dark” and “Nothing’s Impossible” repeat this theme of a girl swallowed by darkness. Whining pedal steel mimics a crying theremin, filling Ortega’s hostile inner-world with sounds of loneliness. And that loneliness breeds self-reliance. The album transitions from reminiscences about a long-dead love to the death and resurrection of Liberty’s heroine herself. She tears down the walls of her hostile world and breaks out to confront her “killer.”
Ortega harnesses Western imagery throughout Liberty, embracing the powerful symbol of the heroic figure who rides in on a stallion to save the day, but replacing the cowboy with a cowgirl, a “Comeback Kid” who returns to life to haunt the love who wronged her. She puts her foot down with the iconic line “You took my life and wrecked it, but I’ve been resurrected.”
Pulling the threads of this album together is a three-part instrumental interlude imbued with the horns and whistles and drumbeats of Ennio Morricone. After kicking off the album with a Lindi-style imitation of the theme from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, “Through the Dust” becomes less Morricone and more Lindi each time it reappears. “Through the Dust Pt. II” slows to a weary pace, like a record spinning under a heavy weight. “Pt. III” strips away the Spaghetti Western altogether and moves the melody to a piano, whereupon it fades away.
Ortega, acutely self-aware, reclaims the imagery of her past trauma and declares “Darkness Be Gone.” This poignantly sparse piece shines a single spotlight on Liberty’s hopeful heroine, who can “suddenly hear the angels.” Alone but ready to explore the wilderness of her surroundings, Ortega imagines her heroine riding her horse towards a horizon that she has never seen before. This scene materializes in the ambient ballad “In The Clear.” So somber and honest, this song forms a lump in the throat of anyone who realizes that our heroine has suddenly gone from singing about “me, me, me” to “we.”
The lover of her imagination receives a name (“Pablo”) and a true country ode (“Lovers in Love”). But, Liberty doesn’t truly draw its conclusion until its very last track. Sung entirely in Spanish (Ortega is half-Mexican), “Gracias A La Vida,” is herein a thank-you letter from a reformed soul. This humble ballad, written by Violeta Parra, was once made famous by another Mexican songstress, Joan Baez. From the voice of her lover to the laughter of life, Ortega thanks the circumstances that have brought her here, to the other side of darkness. It is a sharp reminder of Ortega’s brave discussion of her own battle with body dysmorphic disorder earlier this year. Among the memories of loss and love, Ortega harnesses Parra’s tune to thank her own family and culture, offering gratitude in the form of a song. “Y el canto de ustedes que es el mismo canto, y el canto de todos que es mi propio canto.”
Order Liberty: http://radi.al/Liberty
Lindi Ortega, European Tour Dates
June 2 Dublin, Grand Social
June 3 Belfast, Empire
June 5 Sheffield, Leadmill
June 6 Glasgow, Oran Mor
June 8 Newcastle, Cluny
June 9 Leeds, Brudenell
June 11 Manchester, Gorilla
June 12 Brighton, Komedia
June 13 Bristol, Fleece
June 14 London, Garage
June 16 Stockholm, Sthlm Americana
June 17 Gothenburg, Pustervik w/ Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit
June 18 Olso, Cafe Mono
June 19 Malmo, Kulturbolaget w/ Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit
June 21 Utrecht, Tivoli Vredenburg w/ Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit
June 23 Copenhagen, Komos Festival
June 24 Hamburg, Knust
Tickets on sale through Ortega’s website www.lindiortega.com
Photo Credit: Kate Nutt