Emily Scott Robinson: American Siren
Photo by Cal & Aly
I would be lying if I didn’t feel excitement and a twinge of fear when I heard that Emily Scott Robinson had a new album coming out this fall. You see, I get nervous when an artist releases a new album following an album that I love. Part of me worries that the new album won’t resonate with me as much, or maybe their growth as an artist has somehow outgrown me, but I need not have worried with Emily Scott Robinson and her new album, American Siren. It’s a spectacular and soulful follow-up to Traveling Mercies, her 2019 album, which was my first introduction to her. There’s a lot that’s happened in the last two years. The world looks a bit different, of course, but Robinson was signed to Oh Boy Records earlier this year, and it seemed like a match made in heaven and placed Robinson among contemporaries every bit as talented as she is. Although Robinson’s songwriting and lyrics are as good as ever, they’ve also matured on American Siren, a sentiment that Robinson herself shares.
“It is bigger and riskier and more expansive than my last collection,” Robinson says. “It feels like I wrote some songs that I'm going to grow into as I continue to perform them. I actually cried after I finished every one of them. I was so relieved that I was able to write them. I carved out a little more of my own experiences into these songs. They're excavating some deeper stuff than I've touched on before. I think they will have a healing quality for people who listen.”
“Hometown Hero,” quite possibly the saddest of the ten tracks on the album, is a song written in tribute to Robinson’s cousin, a veteran who committed suicide. This is the song that stopped me in my tracks, the kind of song that gives you goosebumps. As “Taps,” softy played by a banjo, closes out the song, you can’t help but feel something: sadness for what might have been, thinking about friends or family that struggled in the same way. Robinson paints a photo of what life would have been like had her cousin remained around, laughing over beers, tucking his children into bed, but
“In a flash, we lost you to the war inside your head.”
Although not all songs are autobiographical on the album, like any good writer, Emily infuses parts of herself into every song. One of the earlier single releases off the album was, “Cheap Seats,” based on a 2019 show at the Ryman that Robinson attended, featuring John Prine and Bonnie Raitt, a motivational story for those songwriters that flock to Nashville and other music cities in the US, hoping that one day they’ll be the ones on stage, entertaining the crowd, and singing right to those in the cheap seats.
“Lighting in a Bottle,” with its haunting fiddle intro and the exquisite lyrics about the “summer she turned 19.” Who doesn’t remember fondly the summers of the in-between? Adult enough that you could slip off to enjoy cold beers on hot summer nights, but still young enough to enjoy the red tomatoes on the vine and love, young love, when it feels like magic? Speaking of magic, Robinson brings this quality to her songs. It's easy to imagine the stories she tells, as if you were the one experiencing it. Perhaps it’s because there are many songs on the album that we can find a way to relate to. The best songwriters know how to do this with their audience, and Robinson has only improved on that in the last few years.
If you liked Robinson’s past albums, especially Traveling Mercies, then you’re going to be blown away by American Siren. You can compare it to the older, more mature sister, that’s seen a lot, but still holds on to her sweetness in spite of it. American Siren was out everywhere this past Friday. Order yourself or stream a copy. You won’t want to miss this one.
Find out more about Emily Scott Robinson below: