ALBUM REVIEW: Sophie Gault Explores Landmines on ‘Baltic Street Hotel’
Maeri Ferguson
Posted On September 18, 2024
The Americana gods must have been smiling down on Sophie Gault when they crossed her stars with award-winning producer Ray Kennedy, known for his work on Lucinda Williams’ seminal Car Wheels on a Gravel Road and Steve Earle’s Transcendental Blues, among many other classics. Kennedy was a ’90s country and roots music collaborative giant and, today, he’s the missing piece for Gault, whose latest album Baltic Street Hotel fits perfectly in that wheelhouse.
With a little grunge and grit, Gault has a weathered, lived-in voice that rivals Williams. Pair this with songwriting that evokes sticky bar floors, crackling neon signs in the moonlight, and storied roadside motels. Twinkling and romantic, but a little rusted and jaded upon closer look, Baltic Street Hotel paints the picture of what it feels like to be so stubbornly determined to just get it right.
“Over & Out” is the embodiment of album’s striving, rough-around-the-edges spirit as Gault sings to a weepy guitar, “Don’t you know that I’m only human/I’m only doing/Things the best way I know how.”
Gault’s songs live in that messiness between stumbling into every one of life’s landmines and having it all figured out. Take “Christmas in the Psych Ward,” where Gault tries to make the most of barebones amenities like a plywood guitar and too much lithium. She faces constant reminders of the pain that got her there and that still awaits her on the outside. “Things Are Going Good” is a warm appreciation for simple things: the “cool breeze of a ceiling fan,” the radio playing your favorites songs, “bacon in the frying pan,” “coffee extra strong,” making every green light on the way to work. “Lately” is a beauty of a duet with Gabe Lee. It plays out like a conversation between friends who are finally catching up after a long while, familiar and sweet.
Gault bravely mines all her shortcomings to reach a place of acceptance, even something like contentment on Baltic Street Hotel. Those genre ancestors — Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Patty Griffin — would be proud.
Sophie Gault’s Baltic Street Hotel releases Sep. 20 on Strong Place Music.
