Lori McKenna has released eight or so albums since 2000. Her star as a songwriter is ascendant: she co-wrote Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush,” has solo writing credit for Tim McGraw’s “Humble and Kind,” and has been winning CMA awards and Grammies for her writing over the last three years.
“Fireflies” became the best-known song from Respond after it appeared as the title track of Faith Hill’s 2005 album. It’s an achingly beautiful look at lost innocence. This is the version on McKenna’s 2001 disk Pieces of Me, and is a little different from the one I know well.
Maybe my favorite of all from Respond is the track that leads off the second disk. It’s another tune that’s DV-themed; the video is clearly low-budget but effective (though plenty dark). After seeing good reviews for Eleven, the album by Deb Pasternak that contains “One Regret,” I’ve placed an order for it. Searching around this week made me aware (at long last) that some of these musicians I’ve enjoyed for so long have done some recording. Like Kris Delmhorst, I’m psyched to hear more of Ms. Pasternak.
Hope you’ve found something to enjoy in this tour of semi-obscurity. It’s a good reminder to me to keep looking out for singer-songwriters hoping to be up-and-comers–they’re definitely out there, and any number of them are incredible talents.
The Music of My Life 