Lillian Leadbetter’s State of Romance is an album that’s one-half Nashville and one-half Vermont. Her Northeastern rural upbringing helped root her love for a cross-section of musical styles, folk and country ranking high among them. She’s developed her talents for over a decade while boasting influences as diverse as Lana Del Ray, Anais Mitchell, John Prine, and Rachael Price, among others. An alumnus of Boston’s Berklee College of Music and the University of Vermont, she brings equal parts technical skill and deep emotion to her musical, vocal, and lyrical content. The eight songs recorded for State of Romance rate among her best compositions yet.
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“Not in the Mood for Heartbreak” opens the collection with a hushed and meditative quality. Leadbetter’s voice wafts between evocative smoky understatement and pristine upper-register elegance. It’s an approach ideally suited for the song’s reflective and slightly rueful lyrics and complemented extraordinarily well by the musical accompaniment. Ghostly touches of pedal steel underline the song’s melancholy, and the delicate acoustic guitar gives it a deceptively strong underpinning.
She continues pursuing spartan arrangements with the second song “American Sweetheart”. There is an instrumental carryover from the opener, particularly the presence of pedal steel once again exerting its influence, but she introduces other elements into the song’s mix. The electric guitar woven throughout the song’s fabric provides welcome flashes of color. “Sophia” extends her musical reach while retaining the same strengths that distinguish the opening tandem. It’s a deft character study in miniature and among the album’s finest lyrics, but the high point arrives with the unexpected yet wholly successful addition of brass to the song’s arrangement.
The title song is an unexpected 180-degree turn from what comes before. “State of Romance” has a moody musical arrangement and relies on an assortment of ambient contributions. However, the focus on Leadbetter’s spoken-word delivery sets it apart from the surrounding material. It’s a well-written and conversational reflection on romance in the modern world. It works despite the experimental nature of the performance. It will likely land ambivalently with listeners unaccustomed to such fare.
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The lush, theatrical pop of “Doesn’t Hurt” is another highlight. Leadbetter paces the performance methodically without losing listeners along the way. It continues exploring the same themes thus far dominating the album, albeit in a different sonic context and from a new angle, without ever leaving you feeling like she’s repeating herself. She puts her vocals front and center for State of Romance’s finale “Silver Lining” as the song’s arrangement often puts the cut’s success or failure on her voice alone. She makes exceptional use of space in the song’s arrangement for much of its first half before expanding its scope with brass re-entering the frame. Bookending the track with a low-key beginning and ending gives this finale added coherence that serves it well.
Lillian Leadbetter’s State of Romance is arguably her finest collection yet. She brings outstanding focus to the overall album and succeeds in making a substantive artistic statement that’s durable, has universal application in its meaning, and sparkles with outstanding production values.
Garth Thomas