Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville
Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville builds a country album around a small fictional town and the people who live there. McBryde shares the singing with a group of collaborators, letting different voices take responsibility for different characters. The result has the feeling of a short stage production, with songs and brief local advertisements creating a place that is funny, untidy and recognisably human.
Producer John Osborne keeps the music closer to a loose country gathering than the muscular rock arrangements of McBryde's earlier major-label records. The playing leaves space for the words, and the changes of singer become an important part of the sound. Aaron Raitiere's relaxed drawl is particularly useful, making a joke land without always announcing that a punchline is coming.
Brenda Put Your Bra On introduces a domestic argument through blunt humour. The situation is messy, but the song's interest comes from treating the people involved as characters with lives beyond the immediate joke. That balance matters throughout Lindeville. Without it, the album's collection of exaggerated incidents could easily turn into a string of novelty songs.
Gospel Night At The Strip Club takes a gentler route. Benjy Davis narrates over softly strummed guitar, allowing sympathy to develop in a setting that might otherwise be used only for comedy. Play Ball also looks closely at local lives, with T.J. Osborne giving the community's history a different voice. These quieter moments make the fictional town feel larger than its most outrageous stories.
The short jingles for a diner, a pawnshop and a funeral home connect the songs. Their filtered radio sound adds character without demanding much time, although the device works better as atmosphere than as a complete explanation of how every resident fits together.
When Will I Be Loved gives the collection a familiar song to gather around. Bonfire At Tina's and the closing Lindeville then help move its feeling beyond the initial comedy towards something more generous.
The world is engaging enough to make the brief running time slightly frustrating. A few more developed songs could give the town and its residents greater depth. Even so, Lindeville is an imaginative, warm-hearted country record whose different voices belong together. The humour opens the door; the sympathy gives a reason to stay.
