You Don't Own Me Anymore The Secret Sisters Artist

The result of a tumultuous couple of years that saw sisters {|Laura|} and {|Lydia Rogers|} dropped from their label and sued by their manager, {|You Don't Own Me Anymore|} dispenses with some of the retro pastiche of their two previous outings in fav... Read more

The result of a tumultuous couple of years that saw sisters {|Laura|} and {|Lydia Rogers|} dropped from their label and sued by their manager, {|You Don't Own Me Anymore|} dispenses with some of the retro pastiche of their two previous outings in favor of a more contemporary, though no less timeless-sounding approach. Produced with genuine affection by {|Brandi Carlile|}, the 12-track set is a marvel of quiet grandeur and steely Southern pragmatism. Anchored by the {|Rogers|}' impeccable harmonies, which invoke the sibling alchemy of the {|Louvins|}, {|Everlys|}, {|Kossoys|}, and {|Carters|}, {|You Don't Own Me Anymore|} begins strong with the languid Tennessee River Runs Low, a Southern gothic-infused ode to the stretch of river that runs through their Northern Alabama homeland. The melody is dark and deep, and the gospel feel palpable, suggesting the {|Andrews Sisters|}' Bei Mir Bist Du Shein by way of {|O Brother, Where Art Thou?|} Elsewhere, the sprightly He's Fine and the feisty, garage-hewn title track find mirth in misery, and a lovely guitar- and cello-accompanied take on {|Paul Simon|}'s Kathy's Song proves the perfect vehicle for the siblings' close harmonic acuity. A brawny union of mountain folk and country-rock that takes the antagonist's point of view, the inverted murder ballad Mississippi, co-written with {|Carlile|}, impresses as well, but it's the album's quieter moments that land the biggest punches. To All the Girls Who Cry and Flee as a Bird, the former a swooning sonic hug that sounds like {|Patsy Cline|} and {|Mary Ford|} re-imagining {|Ricky Nelson|}'s Lonesome Town, and the latter an unvarnished rendition of South Carolina poet {|Mary S. B. Shindler|}'s beautiful hymn, feel both otherworldly and familiar, like setting eyes on the first firefly of summer. However rooted in the past they may sound, the {|Secret Sisters|} ultimately connect on such an intimate level that they render any measure of time extraneous. ~ James Christopher Monger Less