Helene Cronin - Landmarks

by Zena Grieg

published: 3 / 7 / 2023

Label: Helene Cronin
Format: CD

intro

Eclectic and powerful latest album from engaging Nashville singer-songwriter Helene Cronin

Nashville singer-songwriter Helene Cronin has just released the follow-up to her 2019 album ‘Old Ghosts & Lost Causes’. An eclectic mix of styles, with contributions by a colourful, skilful array of musicians, ‘Landmarks’ is a collection of songs rooted in a sense of place, driven by confessional narratives, revolving around themes of love, loss and happiness, underlain by religious imagery and overtones. Speaking about the deep emotions which drove the record, Cronin said: “…to come out the other side and realize that there are other people who are glad that you wrote about it is a magical process.” Songs to listen out for in this twelve-track collection include: the powerful country-rock opener ‘Yesterday’s Heavy’ with its call to let go of regrets and yesterday: “Why you gotta hold on to the past/Don’t you get tired of the weight of all that/All the done-wrongs and might-a-beens you carry around”; the sombre, catchy ‘Make The Devil’ with its insinuating banjo backdrop; the gospel, soaring single ‘Just A Woman’, a tribute to women, with its plaintive lyrics on the challenging stories of three women; the title song with its nostalgic call of home; the soulful, bleak ‘Halfway Back to Knoxville’; the dramatic ‘Your Cross’ with its daring linking of a destructive relationship to a crucifixion; the upbeat single ‘Between Me and the Road’; and the moving ‘Bodies of Water’. A melodious, resonating record, ‘Landmarks’ marks an enjoyable next step in the journey for this engaging songwriter.

Track Listing:-

1 Yesterday's Heavy
2 Make The Devil
3 Just A Woman
4 Landmarks
5 What Do You Lean On
6 Halfway Back To Knoxville
7 Your Cross
8 Between Me And The Road
9 You Do
10 What They Didn't Build
11 Bodies Of Water
12 Cross That River