Music Review // W/FRNDS & Paige Penney "SOUTHERN DRAW(L)"

 

At some point in time the sound of country music evolved.  Artists like Lil Nas X took what was once a certain guitar-based twang and fused it with elements of hip hop.  This song by W/FRNDS and Paige Penney does exactly that as there is an undertone of that good old fashioned country sound (which is also there with the lyrics) but as the song starts there is an electronic vibe which takes us into beats.  Those beats stay steady to take us into a sound which might not be pop but definitely can have a mass appeal.

What is it about accents that people love so much?  On one hand, being born in the state of Connecticut, we are often told we are those without accents, so whenever you can hear someone with a certain way of speaking that makes it easy to tell where they're from, it fascinates me, maybe even makes me a little bit jealous.  While there are accents which I prefer not to hear, there are also those accents which we hear and just can't get enough of hearing.  Some people, in fact, become internet famous because of their accents.

This song is about what the title says and it has the lyric: "Smooth like whiskey when you talk" to demonstrate that further.  The chorus sings "Damn your Southern Drawl" and it's just about getting lost in the voice of someone, which back when the radio was more popular than it is now (and we actually talked on telephones) it wasn't as uncommon.   But as much as songs can sing about being in love with someone because of their body or face, it's nice to have a song now that is about their voice.

The universal appeal to this song comes not only in the sound but in lines like "Hop up in your front seat / Get lost in the country".   Yes, if you're a fan of country music this lyric will be for you, but I also think there is a certain aspect to a person who lives a city life and fantasizes about the country that can play into this song as well.   If someone has an accent that captures you like this, then they likely aren't from where you're from so that also just plays into the whole idea of being with someone different, somewhere different and it just creates a whole new world that everyone at some point has thought about.