A Rochester, New York native now living in Austin, Texas, Rita Bliss has found an invigorating climate for their songwriting art. The Lone Star State’s capital city has welcomed scores of gifted songwriters for over a quarter century, and Bliss’ work mixes the familiar with the individualistic in gripping ways. Her debut album Peaches and Apple Pies embraces narrative songwriting with a distinctive queer twist. However, anyone focusing on the latter misses the point. These are, first and foremost, human songs driven by an array of emotions that each of us experiences. Bliss invokes influences such as Joni Mitchell, John Prine, and Nanci Griffith, but ultimately emerges from this collection with her own identity.
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“Drive You to Kentucky” is an affectionate love song propelled by Bliss’ banjo, understated fiddle accompaniment, and a dollop of harmonica. She scatters key vocal harmonies throughout the arrangement. They are a crowning touch for this effervescent tune. Bliss’ lyrics don’t aspire to high-flown pseudo-poetry, but she nonetheless threads considerable humor throughout the writing. It ultimately assumes the dimensions of conversational poetry despite the down-to-earth vibe permeating the track.
The album’s title track doesn’t waste any time introducing Bliss’ voice. She has a plaintive quality as a singer that’s shorn of any pretense. Harmonica appears again and serves as an excellent folky counterpoint to the bluegrass-steeped banjo and fiddle. It’s another love song, without question, but the unabashed earnestness of the content never risks mawkishness. “Love from Lufkin” broadens her songwriting finesse with its skillful use of geographic details, and the lively fiddle playing puts an emphatic exclamation point on the performance. It’s one of the album’s most appealing moments yet.
“The Best Bar in Texas” benefits from well-chosen lyrical details. The one catch to this fabled bar’s idyllic atmosphere, Charley’s disposition turning sour, is an artful touch that attentive listeners will appreciate. Breaking from the topic of love songs after opening the album with three consecutive tunes in that vein is a welcome shifting of gears. “Two Dollar Bill” is one of Peaches and Apple Pies’ highlights. The unassuming amble of the song’s arrangement has appealing changes and a pleasing sense of inevitability. It frames Bliss’ best lyrics yet with several inventive turns in the language punctuating her writing. The condensed instrumental breaks are potent.
“Jeanine” is a surprisingly cheerful recollection of a failed romance that left Bliss reeling. It’s an interesting juxtaposition of a former partner who now disdains the singer, but Bliss still can’t say no to her charms. The brisk pace makes it feel almost like a throwaway tune compared to moments such as “Two Dollar Bill”, but it’s well worth your time. Bliss concludes Peaches and Apple Pies with the valedictory “Goodbye”. It’s a songwriting turning a page on her life. She’s reflecting on a handful of pivotal relationships in her life, particularly familial, in a stark yet beautiful musical setting. It’s melancholy, yet free from despair.
There’s an appealing across-the-board mix defining Rita Bliss’ debut Peaches and Apple Pies. This is more than a songwriter to watch; you can appreciate her considerable talents now, and rest assured that she hasn’t yet peaked.
Garth Thomas