Texas singer/songwriter Marcy Grace will release her debut long player, Tear It Up, on August 22. And it’s a humdinger, blending galvanizing guitars, propelling percussion, and snarling, twang-laced vocals into audacious country rock.
Talking about the album, Grace says, “This album is all me and my band. We did bring in Aaron Castilla on fiddle for ‘Heavens to Betsy’ and ‘Mr. Lonely Eyes,’ and Tina Turner’s fiddle on ‘Look Who’s Countin’ and ‘Mason Jar.’ We also brought in John Macy on pedal steel. I’m so proud of this group and what we created; it’s everything I hoped for. And getting to record a song I wrote with my dad, Patrick Camacho, makes it even more special.”
Produced by Kenny Lane Schwartz of Red Fox Recording in Bandera, Texas, Tear It Up confirms Grace’s 2025 Emerging Songwriter of the Year award from the Texas Internet Radio Music Awards.
Encompassing 10 tracks, entry points on Tear It Up include “Heavens To Betsy,” an upbeat country rocker brimming with gleaming guitars and sawing fiddles. Grace’s deliciously reedy vocals imbue the lyrics with wild-child energy as she narrates the impish escapades of the rebellious protagonist.
Opening on dirty, growling guitars atop a pushing rhythm, the title track allows Grace to strut her high-octane voice, serrated with luscious, rasping timbres via deep South, drawling surfaces. It’s a voice that can cut paper, at once risky and magnetic. On the solo, Grace lays down blistering licks, sending chills up and down your spine.
A personal favorite because of its theme of chasing your dreams rather than taking the safe and easy path, “If You Want The Rainbow” rolls out on pensive tones and then ramps up on the chorus, revealing glittering harmonic layers.
“If you want the rainbow / You gotta have a little rain.”
A rollicking, rattling song, “Look Who’s Countin’” features slicing fiddles and almost jangly guitars, all riding a yummy driving rhythm. A bluesy drinking song, “Mason Jar” includes a stellar guitar solo, climbing the scale to a scorching crescendo.
Saturated in oceans of twang tinted with blues aromas, “Mr. Lonely Eyes” finds Grace wowing listeners with her pure, Texas nasal resonance. Bright and edgy, her voice displays nuanced overtones and lip-smacking clarity.
With nary a subpar song, on Tear It Up, Marcy Grace delivers a listening experience akin to discovering religion for the first time.
