album review by Evan LeBouef
Hey y’all, this month we are going to listen to the new LP released by Lainey Gonzales (LG). I had the opportunity to sit down with Lainey and ask them a few questions about their new release, “Don’t Make Me Worry”. This album made me reflect on the past good and bad and how much I have grown as a person because of everything I’ve done. LG takes a great approach to songwriting and really has a knack for weaving a story. Sonically, this album is so pleasing with its different timbres that will keep your ears at full attention. Now, to the interview.
For The Record: Who/What/? Inspired this album?
Lainey Gonzales: I wanted this album to be a documentation of the things that make me anxious and the things that alleviate that anxiety. Things that make me anxious: the future, body image, definitions of success, religious trauma, the world falling apart, relationships, etc. Things that lighten those: therapy, antidepressants, family, chosen family, going on walks, celebrating things and people i love, etc.
FTR: What genre would you classify your sound as?
LG: Pop-punk country. More specifically the venn diagram of Kacey Musgraves, Phoebe Bridgers, and Taylor Swift.
FTR: Who are some of your idols, music and not music?
LG: Music: see above. Not music: Sex and the City, Broad City, Portlandia, It’s Kind of a Funny Story (book & movie), Insomniac City (book), my best friends, my cats (living and dead).
FTR: What’s your favorite song off the album?
LG: My favorite is either Banana Bread, Sanctuary, or In the Meantime. I love Banana Bread because it’s a message I think I’ll always need, and sonically it’s my most adventurous and whimsical. I love Sanctuary because I never thought I’d be able to write a song about my religious past and how I see the church now. It’s not something I was sure I’d be able to condense into a 3 minute song in a meaningful, respectful way. But that’s what’s so powerful about writing. Writing can hold so much with so little. And, In the Meantime (maybe the ultimate favorite) just feels like something I may never be able to match. Every word is exactly where it should be, every phrase sets up the next, in some ways it feels so specific to my life but in others it feels so universal. It’s easily my favorite thing I’ve ever written.
FTR: What’s next from the Lainey G crew?
LG: We will be playing more shows, and eventually/hopefully those shows can be in other cities and states. We will definitely be making more music, definitely more laughing and more fun-having.
FTR: If you could thank one person for making this album happen who didn’t help play, mix or write for it who would it be and why?
LG: I would like to thank my therapist. Good therapy should be accessible to everyone. It has truly changed my life.
Remember, stay safe, and keep spinning.
Listen to the album online at:
https://laineygonzales.bandcamp.com/album/dont-make-me-worry
If you have an album you’d like reviewed please forward a link to ILikeThisRecord@gmail.com