ALBUM REVIEW: Kelly Willis, Melissa Carper, and Brennen Leigh Combine Powers to Become the Wonder Women of Country
Stacy Chandler
Posted On March 13, 2024
Country music has a long tradition of women banding together: Trio, Pistol Annies, Our Native Daughters, and The Highwomen come to mind. A new sisterhood now carries that same spirit, combining the musical superpowers of Kelly Willis, Melissa Carper, and Brennen Leigh into the Wonder Women of Country.
The Wonder Women of Country, from left, Melissa Carper, Brennen Leigh, and Kelly Willis (photo by Lyza Renee)
Singer-songwriters Willis, Carper, and Leigh moved in each other’s musical orbits for years, but only late in 2021, at Willis’ urging, did they purposely align their paths and book some tour dates together. One short tour became several, and thus was born the Wonder Women of Country, though the name wouldn’t come until later. What came first were solid songs, killer harmonies, and a sense of fun that beamed from the stage, now distilled into a six-song debut EP.
Each songwriter selected two tracks for Wonder Women of Country: Willis, Carper, Leigh, adding up to a strong showcase that includes a few co-writes that multiply their talents and one transformative cover offered by Carper. Her treatment of John Prine and Roger Cook’s “I Have Met My Love Today” (from Prine’s final album, Tree of Forgiveness) is stripped back and sweetened, letting the trio’s voices shine atop Carper’s bass, simple percussion, and a gentle accordion accompaniment from Ginny Mac.
“Fly Ya to Hawaii,” written by Leigh with an assist from Carper, is a testament to the trio’s versatility, with tropical steel guitar courtesy of Chris Scruggs and three-part harmony in the form of yodelling. The band’s sense of fun is on full display here, as the lyrics paint an island fantasy before Leigh admits, “I ain’t got a hundred dollars / for the airplane fare / so maybe you could come on over / to my kauhale here.”
Willis contributes what she terms “a little post-divorce toe tapper” in “A Thousand Ways,” which outlines how far just a little caring could have gone to nurture a withering love. Her other song is the classic-sounding standout “Another Broken Heart,” in which solace is sought in a bar and bad ideas.
A supergroup is always something special, but when it’s women uniting their powers instead of letting the country music machine divide them, it truly is a wonder. With their live shows and this EP, Willis, Carper, and Leigh bring out the best in each other and, while they’re at it, work toward saving the world one great song at a time.
Wonder Women of Country: Willis, Carper, Leigh is out March 15 on Brooklyn Basement Records.
