Having first discovered Macartney Reinhardt's music when her wonderful single "Shadows" was released, it feels bizarrely like we have grown up with her and with this latest single it seems it is time for her to be leaving home and heading to Tennessee or as her latest single puts it "Coming Home" to Nashville.
It is almost something of a rite of passage for country songwriters and performers, almost like a primeval call of the wild that lures them to one place from wherever they may be, scattered across the USA and beyond. They come to congregate, hopefully find fame; fortune and to be surrounded by like minded folk who have heard that same call.
"Coming Home" soundwise is a delightful mix of old and new, opening to a wailing pedal steel, while at the same time there's a modern feel about the whistling effect and the percussion. As things build there is a lovely mandolin that runs through the track and Macartney adds her own backing vocals towards the end.
The first verse is quite touching, it sees Macartney looking back at times gone by, with a friend who's aspirations were much closer to home.
"I remember all those days, all those crazy dreams
You'd be homecoming Queen
My eyes were on the lights, bigger than this town
But I never made sense to you that I had to get out"
Macartney has a great way of phrasing her vocals and seeing the lyrics written down does not really do justice to the performance that she gives. She seems to break many conventions and yet it works beautifully, giving her that little edge that makes her stand out from the crowd.
The chorus when it comes encapsulates that feeling of finally knowing that you are in the place you were meant to be
"This place i've always gone home to
The town I've never really known
I'll leave it all behind - chasing painted white lines
Skyline tugging on my heartstrings
Calling me to Tennessee
Give it all a try
I'm coming home for the first time"
The second verse also has elements of looking back but in the context of comparing the old days to where she is now
"Went from writing songs - just to sing them all alone
But look at me now - singing to the crowd
My eyes were on the lights bigger than that town
But I never made sense to you, that I had to get out"
There is one thing all performers must have and that is a singular vision and Macartney certainly has that, such is her self assuredness of where she wants to be and what she wants to do.
"I'd be lying if I said it wasn't easy
Leaving a place I was never supposed to be"
It all makes for a great addition to Macartney's growing catalog and it will be interesting to see how she develops.The only problem may be that there are many that have heeded the sirens call and have been drawn towards the same dream. As noted earlier though, there has always been something a little different about Macartney, from her early Elliott Smith cover. through to her latter singles - we here at #TEAMw21 wish her all the best.