Jenna Paulette - The Girl I Was

by Zena Grieg

published: 30 / 8 / 2023

Label: Kelly Bayfiekd
Format: Download

Appealing mix of traditional and contemporary country.on debut album from Texan singer-songwriter Jenna Paulette

Review

Following Apple Music acclaiming her as ‘Country Riser of the Month’ for March, Texas-born Jenna Paulette has brought out her first full-length album. ‘The Girl I Was’ depicts a kaleidoscope of characters inspired by rural Western life, bookended by a short, spirited fiddle rendition of ‘Home On The Range.’ Embodying a style of music she calls ‘Cowboy Country’, Paulette is also a rancher who grew up on her grandfather’s ranch and staying true to her Western values performed the national anthem at the 2022 Professional Bull Riding World Finals. Themes of love, heartbreak, the importance of land and family, and moving on pervade this debut record in an appealing mix of traditional and contemporary country. Songs to listen out for in this sixteen-track collection include: a buoyant interpretation of Ashley McBride’s ‘A Fiddle And A Violin’; the light and breezy ‘Anywhere The Wind Blows’ with its fiddle base; the honky-tonk ‘One Two-Step Away’; the chiding rebuke to a fickle lover in the first single from the album ‘You Ain’t No Cowboy’; ‘Country In The Girl’ with its catchy vibe; 'Sun Keeps Comin’ Back Up’ on overcoming a breakup:- “This house feels cold and my heart feels numb/But the sun just keeps on comin’ back up”; the raucous ‘We Know How To Friday Night’; the title track with its upbeat message of self-discovery: “I’m finally looking in the mirror and seein’ that me I love/I can’t believe I ever thought she wasn’t good enough/I’m getting back to the girl I was”; and the quirkily titled acoustic closer ‘Stop And Smell The Horses’ with its powerful lyrics about appreciating life as it presents itself in the moment. Melodic, optimistic, ‘The Girl I Was’ is a competent first record from this emerging, talented musician.

Track Listing:-

1 Home on The Range – Intro
2 Fiddle and a Violin
3 Anywhere the Wind Blows
4 Slow Drawl
5 One Two-Step Away
6 You Ain’t No Cowboy
7 Country in the Girl
8 Bless Her Heart
9 Pretty Ugly
10 Sun Keeps Comin’ Back Up
11 Truck Boy
12 We Know How to Friday Night
13 The Girl I Was
14 Make the World a Small Town
15 Stop and Smell the Horses
16 Home on the Range – Outro