Caitlin Cannon – Beggar
Caitlin Cannon’s songs explore the vast, murky space between what we’re promised and what life actually decides to give us, with a push-pull between going for more and accepting “good enough” – she’s gone so far to cheekily publish her songs under the Going for the Bronze label, referencing a song from her brassy 2020 full-length, The TrashCannon Album. Turning in her 90s country feel for something a little more classic and rich, Cannon’s new EP, Beggar, has her diving right back into that philosophical question – what’s “enough?”
Album opener “The Alchemist,” dusted with strings and shimmering keys, finds Cannon defiantly fooling herself – “I can even make myself believe you love me/When you don’t.” Like the music, her vocals are more lush, making the fallacy inherent in lines like “When I was young I was told I showed promise/That I could be anything that I wanted ” hit even harder. The EP’s title track, riding on lovely pedal steel and featuring backing vocals from Lillie Mae Rische, has Cannon arguing both sides of her internal monologue – “My patience turned to pride/Sayin’ I already failed so I don’t ever have to try” becomes “‘Cause I ain’t saving face now/No I’m just a beggar/And I got nothing left to take but desperate measures.” I’d guess this is a debate on repeat in just about any musician’s mind, but rarely are the two sides expressed as plainly as Cannon has here, especially when taking into account the clock ever ticking toward irrelevance – “Seems like seasons used to linger and now they just hit and run/Time ain’t no friend of mine.”
Next up is “Amarillo and Little Rock,” which has Cannon fighting ambivalence (and a traffic stop) while fleeing a town full of personal misery – “And I didn’t really know the speed I was going just that it wasn’t fast enough.” Album capper “Waiting” is a little more hushed and even more personal, detailing the life of her incarcerated brother, from teenage missteps – “In a couple of years of cocaine and cheap beer/I thought you might notice me running with that crowd” – to what he’s missing while he’s locked up – “So I bought these cheap flowers to put on your grave/And I’m gonna spend my days making amends/So they’ll let me come see you in heaven.” Through Cannon’s brother, we see both sides of her dilemma – someone who didn’t do “enough,” but still wants to find more than personal mediocrity, even if life’s initial promises didn’t pay off.
Song I Can’t Wait to Hear Live: “Amarillo and Little Rock” – a sad road song featuring Lillie Mae on fiddle? Yes, please.
Beggar was produced and engineered by Misa Arriaga and executive produced by Kent Koefler. All songs written by Caitlin Cannon. Musicians on the album include Cannon (lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitar, glockenspiel), Arriaga (acoustic guitar, keys, bass guitar, backing vocals), Adam Meisterhans (electric guitar), Jon Murray (bass guitar), Tommy Perkinson (drums), Eddy Dunlap (pedal steel), Ryan Anderson Keith (keys), Matt Combs (strings), Nat Smith (strings), Lillie Mae Rische (fiddle, acoustic guitar, backing vocals), Hershel Van Dyke (drums) and Noah Bellamy (electric guitar),
Go here to stream/download Beggar (out April 5): https://orcd.co/thealchemist
Check out tour dates here: https://www.bandsintown.com/a/8695897-caitlin-cannon
And our previous coverage here: INTERVIEW: Alice Wallace And Caitlin Cannon Of Side Pony Talk About Their Songwriting And Future Plans