For those not in the know, steeped in a folk songwriting tradition that harkens back to Pete Seeger and Joan Baez mixed with modern songwriting elements in the style of Jenny Lewis and Brandi Carlile, Single Girl, Married Girl’s new sophomore album, Three Generations of Leaving (out November 19th, 2021), fearlessly tackles issues ranging from loss and drug addiction to insecurity and depression.

The album chronicles the trials and traumas of three generations of women from the same family - the matriarch, one of her daughters, and her estranged granddaughter.

Each of the women are of their time: the grandmother a rural 1950s housewife and homemaker devoted to her husband, the daughter a rebellious teen of the 1960s, and the granddaughter a young woman grappling with unrealistic expectations and societal standards in a digital world.

Hence, the songs shift in style and arrangement matching the lives and times of the characters.

Recorded primarily in New York at Rift Studios with Grammy-nominated engineer Tom Gardner, who also serves as producer, the album features lush instrumentation, catchy melodies and sweeping musical arrangements that bring the songs’ poignant lyrics to life.

Furthermore, Pierre de Reeder of Rilo Kiley tracked the main vocals and some of the instrumentation at his Los Angeles studio, 64 Sound.

1. Walking on Water
2. So She Runs
3. Wreck Cut Loose
4. Looking
5. A Widow
6. Scared to Move
7. Secret
8. Hurt Her So
9. Runaway
10. Control
11. The Flood

Named after the folk song made famous by The Carter Family, Single Girl, Married Girl (led by frontwoman Chelsey Coy and her husband Gary Knight) open this amazingly vibrant and breathtakingly heartfelt, at times translucently-imbibed new album with the powerful, far-reaching balladry of Walking on Water and the upbeat, one-two beats of So She Runs and backs those up seamlessly with the introspectively ornate Wreck Cut Loose, the mid-tempo, joyful jaunt of Looking and then comes the lovingly adorned gossamer of A Widow.

Next up is one of my own personal favorites, for complete with delicately played, harp-infused majesties, the beautifully soulful ballad Scared to Move is brought to life and is itself followed by the upbeat melodies of Secret, the hauntingly sculptured Hurt Her So, the quietly passive troubadour-esque Runaway, the album rounding out on the robust Control, closing on the gently countrified twang of The Flood.

The other individual musical talents of Single Girl, Married Girl are: Charlie Rauh, a singular player and bassist; John Gray provides the music with all the verve and sweet, earthy tones an upright bass affords; Oskar Haggdahl is behind all the warm and dynamic percussion; and Shannon contributes the ethereal, other-worldly harmonies.

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