Out in La La Land

Martha Spencer is from deep in the Appalachian folk tradition. So deep that she lives on top of a lonely mountain in Virginia, walking in the woods with her dog daily, and living a life as heir to her family’s Whitetop Mountain Band legacy. This makes it all the more fascinating that her recent work as a singer and songwriter has been deft re-envisionings of Americana and country music. She’s taken the grit and gravel of her Appalachian vocals into Nashville dancehalls, charming the underground country scene there and turning folks like roots star Sierra Ferrell into true believers. With her new album, Out in La La Land (her debut on the Music Maker label), Spencer’s songwriting moves effortlessly between old-school country, George Jones and further afield ideas like the Motown vibe of the title-track, or the barrelhouse boogie-woogie of ‘Woman of the Road’ and the Tarantino-esque soundscape of ‘Abducted by Your Love’. Just like Jones, the songwriting is pitch perfect here. Witness this virtuosic line from ‘Sometimes’: ‘And I sat and grinned and beared through it all/But in my mind, I was laying brick and mortar for a wall.’ With songwriting chops like this, Spencer fits quite nicely into Nashville, as can also be heard from the Music City stalwarts joining her on this album. It’s not unusual for a true blue voice of the mountains to make their name in Nashville’s underground country world, but with Out in La La Land Martha Spencer breathes fresh life into this paradigm with a bold songwriting vision and easy execution.