Miles & Memories – Luanne Hunt (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

It’s always a good idea to allow yourself a bit of time for reflection, a time to slow down, perhaps even stop, take stock and maybe glance back and see how far you have come in life. And I think you that you have certainly earned that right when you about to release your 24th album. And that is what Luanne Hunt is doing on Miles & Memories.

As the opening, titular track explains, in life, things are never as easy as they might seem, but all you have to do is get on with the task at hand. In doing so, navigate the pitfalls and disappointments, which are all part of the learning curve, and be proud of your accomplishments, too.

And so Miles & Memories sees Luanne Hunt reflecting on the journey she is on but also muse on relationships she has had along the way. But the album also contains some of the concerns she has for what we are doing to the planet, the only world we have ever called home.

We Are Right To Be Concerned sees her take a political stance, though one that talks from a general overview of the changes she has seen in her life and begs the question of how her homeland, and indeed the world at large, got to be so entrenched in its conflicting ideas, become so hostile to any with a different point of view and if there is perhaps a way back to a more understanding society.

Her style could be described as a deft blend of folk and country, ebbing and flowing between these two closely related genres, something that can be clearly heard in The Vice, a song built on chiming piano and a wandering violin, Hunt’s crystalline vocals and little else. This merging of slight country swagger and folk delicacy is typical of her signature sound.

You Are My Dream reminds us of the poppier side of her writing, here taking no small amount of bouncy and fifties-infused vibes, to create, perhaps, the sound of early country rock being reinvented for the modern age.

And that is a good summation of what Luanne Hunt does so well. She takes the roots and traditions of the past and rewrites them for a modern audience. And given that she has made a living doing it for the last two decades or more, I’d say that it is a recipe that works pretty well. Wouldn’t you?