Artist Spotlight: Maggie Rose

I must have been hiding under a rock not to find this gem until now, but Maggie Rose's Cut to Impress is a fantastic album. Released in early 2013, it's now almost a year and a half old, but better late to the party than to let it pass you by altogether.

Billed as country, I think it is now a fool's game to try to pigeonhole anything but the most obvious. While there is plenty of country throughout the record, there are also hints of funk, rock, R&B and obviously pop. Cut to Impress keeps you interested for the entirety of the album with a lot of unpredictability. After the first three cuts, I was waiting to see what style would come next.

Maggie Rose does not possess the greatest vocal chops, but her delivery is very believable no matter if singing about murder or love or heartbreak or lust.

One thing that stands out is the storytelling on a number of tracks. The storytelling aspect has almost become a lost art. This is especially prevalent on the first track, "Preacher's Daughter" and the latest single "Looking Back Now".

I've listened to entire record several times, but "Preacher's Daughter" keeps drawing me back. It's swampy and dark in the vein of Warrant's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" or Tanya Tucker's "Blackwater Bayou" or "The Night that the Lights Went Out in Georgia". Here is a live recording of that song.

Maggie Rose: Cut To Impress on Amazon

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