And the lines can break my heart
And the pain can do me in
And just when I gain control
The darkness brings you back again
In Little Rain, Robyn Ludwick sings for those times when love’s longing lengthens the afternoon shadows, stretching them past the point of no return. The working day is over, there’s nowhere to hide from what’s missing in your life. You go ahead and open that second bottle of wine. Hell, the one you started on was already open, wasn’t it? And only half full, you’re pretty sure. So you take a sip and hope for the soft morning light of happiness all the while knowing that the maddening darkness of midnight awaits.
And I know by the way you love me
Leaves me crying out for more
And I know that your feelings for me
Ain’t so strong anymore
But with your touch you can control me
And it thrills me to the end
But it breaks my mind
And takes all I got
Not to take you back again
Oh, the lies you tell yourself to get that fix, and the deals you make with the devil to feel just a touch of that heaven you crave. Then there’s the cost of it after the lies are exposed and the deals have gone bad. Ms. Ludwick knows the truth about it all at some basic level, and that truth, sad as it is, permeates her songs and her voice. She sings of love gone bad or never even realized with a voice of pure Texas country soul. Her phrasings are so real and urgent that listening to her songs of heartache is an antidote to the sadness in your heart. Her blues are so blue, her longings are so raw, her need is so great that you start thinking you might just make it through. Maybe the shitty hand you’ve been dealt by love isn’t quite as bad as you thought. Another glass of wine, listen once more, this time with no tears.
I know you know we’ve had some good times
And you know it’s been cloudy too
Baby it don’t take no rays of sunshine
To make me fall again for you
I was taken with Robyn Ludwick after hearing her last album, Out of These Blues. You listen to so much when you write about music, and you want it to be great, but you often settle for good. Then someone hits it out of the park as she did with that record, and after you’ve lived in it for a while, the inevitable question is, can she do it again? The answer here is yes. It doesn’t hurt that she brought Gurf Morlix back to produce and play on the record. Rick Richards handles the drums and Ms. Ludwick’s husband, Lunchmeat (a/k/a John Ludwick) is steady as ever on bass. The package is complete, every song is like it should be, like it has to be. Bravo!
Little Rain releases July 15. You can download the lead track, “Longbow, OK”, at www.robynludwick.com
[Lyrics are from “Breaks My Mind.”]
