REVIEW: HANNAH ELLIS – THAT GIRL (2024)

The Internet has ruined the record industry. We know this. Everyone reading this does.

When I was growing up record labels meant something. You could buy an album with the red Atlantic spine, and know what it sounded like, ditto Music For Nations and countless others.

These days, with streaming and suchlike, if you have a label at all, it has little identity.

That’s not the case everywhere, of course, and some of the record labels still stick to a formula.

Take Curb Records for example. You know what you’re getting from Curb Records. If it comes out on that label it’s going to be polished modern country and from the very top draw.
So you knew what you were getting from “That Girl” even before you looked into the fact that this isn’t just any old debut.

You might never have heard of her, but you might have heard her work. She’s written for Russell Dickerson, Carly Pearce, FOR KING + COUNTRY, Emily Weisband, Cassadee Pope, FILMORE, and Sidewalk Prophets. In addition, she has appeared on the Grand Ole Opry multiple times since making her debut, has toured with Carly Pearce, Billy Currington, Gavin DeGraw, Dwight Yoakam, Devin Dawson, and many others, and has toured as part of the CMT “Next Women of Country” Tour.

So yeah, this isn’t the usual artist knocking her first record out. And in short, right from ‘Country Can” onwards, she sounds like a veteran.

And what can Country do? Pretty much everything you’d imagine. That’s the point of a Curb Records release. They give you what you need, so before the huge chorus, it “finds the common ground between red dirt and West Coast sand.” And includes everyone in the party.

“Us” is both a typical and typically clever love song. First dance at a country wedding, type thing.

What “….Girl” does so well, though, is deliver these songs from a female point of view. The title track is a perfect example of it. That said, it’s a lot of fun, too. “Wine Country” could have been a Cadillac Three track, it’s just that when it does tear-jerking it does it with flair. “Someone Else’s Heartbeat” has her sounding vulnerable, “Karma On The Rocks” is the other side of the same coin, the middle finger to the bloke who broke her heart.

And those six – side one in old money – set the template, but also the standard. “Still” warns you off the one you can’t forget, (“he’s still the same ass in a different box” goes the chorus with real feeling) “Replaceable” is a swaggering anthem to knowing your self-worth, and everything here is wonderfully done, “Somebody Else” is as good as pop gets, “Plans” scores because it’s so relatable – and the same can be said for not just the rest, but country of this type in general.

So “Home And A Hometown” does the whole “you can never escape where you’re from” thing, and “One Of These Days” surveys growing up and making the best of things, but best of all perhaps, is the last one. “Too Much And Not Enough”, which lays bare her insecurities, with the thought: “I wish I could care less a little bit more” at its core. It’s a really interesting end to a thoroughly captivating record.

One thing we haven’t mentioned yet is Ellis’ wonderful voice. She’s able to carry these songs brilliantly- and is clearly revelling in being in the spotlight for once.

She is this girl, maybe she’s always been, but “That Girl” is a superb opening statement. We can label her as country’s new star.

Rating 8.5/10