Introducing Country’s Odd Couple 

On the surface, Melissa Carper and Theo Lawrence might seem like country’s odd couple. She’s a queer hillbilly twanging, rustic Ozarks gal, and he’s a suave Ameripolitan honky-tonker from France. Pairing the two Austinites together, however, produces its own kind of magic, a chemistry captured at the outset with the playful parry and thrust of “Good Luck to Ya” as the duo argues over a girl’s affection. The combination of smooth croon and country drawl woven across their throwback styles most closely hearkens Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton’s classic duets, but Lawrence and Carper blend a bit more tongue-in-cheek. The album stretches both their sounds, with Carper unlocking a tender turn on songs like the waltzing “You’re Forgiven My Love” and Lawrence finding a foil that loosens his vintage cool in the bounce of “Second Look” or gospel flair of “Joyous Time.” They play up the tension between her down-home desires and his cosmopolitan rambling with the wonderfully wistful “All Fifty States” and simple charm of “Supermarket Flowers,” but the heartbreak strikes best: Carper unloads an almost Janis Joplin wail on “Last to Know,” and “Jealous Eyes” wilts with a quivering doubt. A remarkable wine and moonshine concoction.

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