Shelby Lynne once again acts as producer on her album, and shows why nobody knows her music as well as she does. She brings in a strong dose of Muscle Shoals Soul, courtesy of legends Spooner Oldham on Fender Rhodes and Wurlitzer and David Hood on bass. Her songs find a delicate balance between lush melodies and her own sparse aesthetics. Lynne’s ability to be true to her own sound allows her to fuse such divergent sounds as the R&B inspired “Why Didn’t You Call ME” to the solid country of “Old Dog” together into a cohesive album. The production acts as a frame to display the artistry of Shelby Lynne as a vocalist and songwriter.
Tears, Lies and Alibis is a lovely return to the overall sound that made up Suit Yourself, yet Lynne’s songwriting and voice have never been in finer form. The album opens with Rains Came that appreciates the universal empathy of a rainstorm when she is crying. Lynne’s voice is full of poignant vulnerability as she croons “Love is blind, but I will see” in the melancholy “Like a Fool.” But it is not all sweetness and sorrow as Shelby snarls at a cheating lover on Alibi. “Old #7” finds her in full Honky Tonk swagger as she asks, “Now tell me, is it too early for drinking?” Meanwhile, Family Tree has a dark melody line nearly as sinister and tightly wound as the soundtrack to a Sergio Leone film. The highlight of the album is “There’s Something to Be Said” Is a sweeping ballad of getting away from it all. The song finds Lynn musing “There’s something to be said about Airstreams, a rolling home made out of silver,” before quipping “Ah, who’d a thought I’d own a trailer.”
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