Charlotte Cornfield Hurts Like Hell
Ever overhear a bar conversation or witness a first date and wish you could get the backstory on the intriguing interaction you may have paid a little too much attention to? That’s the feeling I kept having while listening to Charlotte Cornfield’s latest album, Hurts Like Hell. The Canadian’s songs are populated by richly drawn characters going through the little moments that make up a life.
That craving for “the rest of the story” comes up in the album’s first track, “Before.” Set against guitar and piano, the song lists off love’s little milestones – nights on the beach, tentative caresses – before mentioning the pivotal point in the relationship – “Before I made my way to gate nine/Before I took off on time/And never left you behind.” We don’t meet the “before” version of the singer yet, but we get a fuller view in the album’s next (and best) song, “Hurts Like Hell.” Guided along by gentle pedal steel from Adam Brisbin (and featuring vocals from Buck Meek), we’re dropped into the middle of an abrupt break-up that…maybe isn’t. What seems like an ending at the moment – “So hard to tell when you’re in it” – might be a beginning requiring patience – “He said, ‘You didn’t give me time to answer/I didn’t even need to think it over.’” It’s chaos meets calm over the course of four minutes.
Not all of Cornfield’s characters (and, on Hurts Like Hell, the songwriter strives to tell stories outside of her own) find such a happy resolution. Uptempo country rocker “Lost Leader” features a musician clinging to the scene a bit too long – “But these aren’t your friends/They’re just people who know who you are.” Time spent in that world drags that erstwhile star into making bad decisions – “Then it’s 5a.m. and you’re stumbling home again/Thinking, ‘Man, fuck this’” (with songs like “Lost Leader,” I feel like if you see too much of yourself in it, you might be in a little bit of trouble). The twangy “Long Game,” on the other hand, could be pulled from Cornfield’s own young musician days, where her dreams were starting to appear achievable – “I was still having fun/Worshipped my idols and wanted to be one” – before a bit of de-nostalgiatizing reminds her how difficult it all was – “It’s a long, long game to play when you’re learning the hard way.” The album wraps with Cornfield’s biggest challenge (and most rewarding milestone) – becoming a mom. Again, we’re dropped into the middle of the scene – “Almost midnight in the hospital/And I’m bloody and alive with you on me/For the first time.” Here, we’re not so much pining for a backstory, but looking more to the future. Backed by shimmery guitars and piano, the mood of that story-to-be is (understandably, in our doorstep-of-end-times world) uneasy, but hopeful.
Song I Can’t Wait to Hear Live: “Hurts Like Hell” – I’m a sucker for aching pedal steel, but it’s that standout storytelling – “But I think I want what you want/And I’m sorry I left you wondering” – that makes it one of my favorite songs this year.
Hurt Like Hell was recorded, produced and mixed by Philip Weinrobe and mastered by Josh Boanti. All songs written by Charlotte Cornfield (“Squiddd” written by Cornfield and Adam Finchler). Musicians on the album include Cornfield (vocals, piano, guitar), Adam Brisbin (guitar, pedal steel), Bridget Kearney (bass, vocals), El Kempner (guitar, vocals), Sean Mullins (drums), Buck Meek (vocals), Christian Lee Hutson (vocals), Leslie Feist (featured vocals), Nuria Graham (piano, vocals), Philip Weinrobe (synth), Maia Friedman (vocals) and Daniel Pencer (saxophone).
Go here to order/stream Hurts Like Hell (out March 27): https://charlottecornfield.bandcamp.com/
https://lnk.to/hurts-like-hell
Check out tour dates here: https://charlottecornfield.com/