Liz Kennedy – Hike Up Your Socks

Liz Kennedy – Hike Up Your Socks

URL: https://www.lizkennedymusic.com/

Liz Kennedy continues evolving and growing. Her newest album Hike Up Your Socks shows a musical artist with the willingness to keep pushing her talents, expanding on past accomplishments with the fearlessness to broach new territory and consistently surrounding herself with musicians of the first order who ably assist her in realizing her artistic vision. Joel Jaffe handles the production chores once again and helps Kennedy impose the needed shape for the album to make the maximum possible impact. The inclusion of legendary musician and vocalist Taj Mahal further elevates the album, but he never takes attention away from Kennedy. She is presented as the true center of everything on Hike Up Your Socks and her performances are integral to the success of each song. Long after her debut, Liz Kennedy is still approaching each new release with the same energy she brought to her first and a richer level of talent than anyone could have predicted when she first emerged on the national scene.

“Everyone Knows How It Goes” comes off with sure-footed charm from the first despite its slightly world weary sentiments. The combination of tasteful drumming, occasional slide guitar, acoustic, and Taj Mahal’s evocative banjo playing guarantees to hold listeners’ attention and his vocal pairing with Kennedy is remarkably compelling. “Say the Words” continues Kennedy’s wont for seemingly autobiographical material written in a confessional type style but it never feels unduly obscure or like we’re eavesdropping on something we shouldn’t be hearing. She lays out her heart with wonderfully conversational poetry that speaks directly to experiences she’s likely shared with the vast majority of her audience. “Love Gave Me Away” strikes a near perfect balance between Kennedy’s traditional strengths and her pop sensibilities. She dispatches the lyric with the same confidence that fuels her other vocal performances but there’s an added surfeit of inspiration lighting up the turns her voice makes.

The high-stepping shuffle of the title song helps makes it easier to appreciate the varied musical arrangement structuring the song. It’s certainly framed as one of the album’s most important songs, befitting its position as the title cut, and Kennedy raises her game some with especially passionate singing. The powerful R&B vibe of “Heart Test” isn’t any challenge either for Kennedy’s singing and she convincingly vies with the brass forming an impressive wall of music that physically engages the listener. The acoustic charms of “The Signs” helps soften an otherwise downcast lyric, but the vocals and backing singers do a good job of further rounding off the sharp emotional edges. The album’s last performance “On the Water” embodies the feel of the song’s guiding images and proves to be one of the more intelligently written pieces on a first class album. Liz Kennedy’s artistic powers have only grown with time and this latest effort gives no clear hint about where her ceiling might be. Instead, it’s full of lyrical and musical riches all listeners are certain to enjoy.

YOU TUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rKQaRecrG8

Mindy McCall