With a title like “Tears and Whiskey,” you might be expecting one of those maudlin cowboy crooner songs, something about drinking yourself stupid at a bar in East Nashville, before sleeping it off in the back of your pick-up truck with your dog and your broken heart for company Well, sorry, Roz Prickel’s new one has the exact opposite message, thankfully.
Taken from her recent EP, Bird of Passage, she gives us a relatively understated country-infused slice of pop-acoustica, just one guitar and a spacious beat to keep things moving. But this acts as the perfect frame for her voice, even on such a reasonably quiet song as this, a voice which manages to wander all over the dynamic vocal map, never overplaying her hand, always making the music more interesting with every note hit.
But, as I warned, this is not one of those liquor and heartbreak songs, “Tears and Whiskey” is actually advocating the exact opposite. Embrace life, it reminds us, make the most of your time, fill your hours with heart and humour, fun and frivolity, love and friendship. A simple message, but one that is easily forgotten as we get wrapped up in the complexities of modern life, as we get wrapped up in ourselves.
Or, put another way, life’s short, fill your days with the things that make you happy! Amen to that!
