Grace Morrison – ‘Saltwater Country’ [Album Review]

The title – Saltwater Country – of the new long player from singer-songwriter Grace Morrison refers not only to a locale but to a sound. The locale is Cape Cod. The sound mirrors the milieu.

Morrison explains, “I was always too pop for folk and too folk for country. Eventually, I started peeling back the layers of my music to find out what truly made it mine. At the heart of it all was my deep, undeniable connection to the Cape Cod coastline—it’s in my blood, in my voice, in every lyric I write. My music carries the storytelling of country, the twang, but also the raw, unshakable spirit of a Swamp Yankee. That’s Saltwater Country.”

Produced by Jon Evans (Tori Amos, Sarah McLachlan), the album adopts two of music’s axioms: ‘three chords and the truth’ and ‘don’t bore us, get to the chorus,’ and adds dollops of retro pop.

Of the 15 tracks on Saltwater Country, high points include the title track, a straight-ahead country rocker that, for some reason, summons up memories of Jackson Browne with its dirty guitar edges. Morrison’s drawl infuses the lyrics with syrupy tones that are delightful rather than cloying.

A personal favourite because of its nostalgic mood, “Just A Kid On Parkwood Drive” is both wistful and a bit buoyant, i.e. the memories are good ones. Set apart by Morrison’s luscious, nasally voice, “I Wanna Tell You Something” travels on an undulating melody wrapped in melancholic surfaces.

With its driving rhythmic pulse, “Heartbreak Hell” propels listeners through the sad landscape of a relationship gone belly up. Yet even though on one level it’s agonizing, the lyrics insinuate that on another level it’s liberating: “I walked away a little closer to myself.”

Grace Morrison, photo by Melissa Sepulveda

Enveloped in dark, bluesy textures, “Poor Man’s Daughter” drips with the uneasiness of long-suppressed, overwhelming emotions. “Avoiding Confrontation” is not sung a cappella but comes across that way because of Morrison’s high, rich, crystalline vocals backed by wonderfully perfect harmonies.

Like its title, there’s a smoky feel to “Smoke Stain.” Glittering, echoing tones cut through a shadowy atmosphere as Morrison’s nuanced vocals imbue the lyrics with profound passion.

The folk-flavoured “On My Way Massachusetts” closes the album with an upbeat, expectant sensation. Morrison’s marinated in a vat of twang voice gives the song charming inflections and an authentic piquancy.

Chock-full of style and power, on her best album yet, Grace Morrison evokes a sound at once familiar yet gratifyingly distinctive.

Saltwater Country Track Listing:

1. Saltwater Country
2. Cranberry Blossoms
3. Just A Kid On Parkwood Drive
4. One Becomes Two
5. Beer in a Teacup
6. I Wanna Tell You Something
7. Heartbreak Hell
8. You And Me Talking
9. Poor Man’s Daughter
10. Gloria
11. Avoiding Confrontation
12. Only A Man
13. Who’s Raising Who
14. Smoke Stain
15. On My Way Massachusetts

Run Time: 52:46
Release Date: June 12, 2025
Record Label: Independent