We’ve been telling you to hop on the Taylor Hunnicutt bandwagon. Muscadine Bloodline has talked about her talent, and now her debut album is here, amplifying the words of praise we have already said.
Taylor Hunnicutt puts the honky back in tonk on her debut album Alabama Sound. A native of the southern state wears that badge with pride as her sound is rooted in the gritty southern rock way of life. It’s a little rock and roll with a helluva twang combined with soul and grit that makes you feel something.
“It’s a little country, a little singer/songwriter, and a little Americana. There’s a whole lot of soul and southern rock, too. That sound encompasses my home. It’s not one genre—it’s just Alabama.”
Hunnicutt and her band often refer to their sound as “Alabama as ****,” and you pick up on it as soon as you start speaking to them. With thick southern drawls paired with over-the-top hospitality, you know you are in for a treat with their music.
With Hunnicutt being on the road for over 200 days every year, this record was cut during short stints they were not touring. “Day off” is not a word in their vocabulary. As a true road warrior, Hunnicutt projects her sound to all four corners of the United States, wanting people to appreciate the hard work and dedication of a touring musician and fall in love with her for her stage presence…not a viral TikTok video. Hunnicutt spoke on this previously noting:
“I sound like a jaded old lady, but I never wanted to be that artist. I wanted to be like American Aquarium or Moonpies, even Muscadine, Red Clay Strays or Rob Leines. Who grinded it out for years to get where they are.
And I’ll continue to do it that way because I believe the longevity is there. And the honesty in the songs you write about “being a road warrior” is apparent if you’ve really put in the work.”
The work she has put in is beyond apparent on this album. From the opening track, “Saw Blade Hill,” which gives similar steel guitar twangs to The Steel Woods, listeners are captivated by the first song on the record. To a more soulful heartbreak ballad like “Way To Get Out” or the stunning duet with Adam Hood (fellow Alabama native) “Nobody’s Business,” amping it back up with the title track “Alabama Sound,” there is something for everyone on this record.
You can feel the passion roaring through Hunnicutt and her band’s studio cuts, and you know it’s authentic because they recorded it live.
“We recorded almost everything live because we wanted to capture the energy that we have onstage. Nothing we’d ever recorded before could really portray that. I’m really happy with the push-and-pull of some of the songs because it sounds so real and raw. It sounds like us.”
If you have ever seen Hunnicutt live, you know how that last sentence rings beyond true. THIS is how you drop a debut record. Y’all get to listening so you can be one to say you were a Taylor Hunnicutt early adopter because this bad*** woman will blow up.
Check out some of our favorites.
“Alabama Sound”
“Way To Get Out”
“Saw Blade Hill”
“Trail Of A Broken Heart”
