Lorraine

iTunes Review

Titled after Lori McKenna’s given name, Lorraine opens with the moving and introspective ballad “The Luxury of Knowing” which may sound familiar to Keith Urban fans, as he covered and released it as a bonus track on the deluxe version of his 2010 album Get Closer. Though less twangy, the original is more dramatic as McKenna muses on an affair that’s more addictive than amorous. By the time “Sweet Disposition” plays, you have to wonder if Lorraine is a breakup album as the acoustic-based country-folk song is a slow burning lament about having to surrender ambitions and emotions to make room for a demanding relationship. “If He Tried” is a similarly bittersweet number where soft piano notes replace the acoustic guitar and McKenna’s problems are pinpointed on a protagonist (i.e. significant other) who could make a big difference if only he practiced a little effort in the romance department. McKenna shifts gears on the sunnier “You Get a Love Song,” one of the few up-tempo tunes here that sounds inspired by something gone right in her little suburban house-mom life.