Esther Rose proves on this stunner of an album that design classics never age if they are presented with sincerity and conviction. By that I mean, Esther’s sound is wholly classic country in its tone, it has acoustic guitar alongside tasteful electric and steel guitar textures, rolling fiddle, easy swinging drum strokes and is topped off with a voice that is achingly pure. The songs, especially on this collection, sing of heartbreak and relationship crisis points but they are varnished with hope, resolve and a lust to kick back from these bumps in the road. Above all though and the main reason why my opening sentence carries some weight, is that these are fantastic melodic songs that have insistent repeat-play worthy pleasures. This is great songwriting, and the album serves the songs so well, with simple vintage style production breathing life, heartbreak and soul into every tune.

It became an album of 2021 for me primarily because it delivered on that ingredient that all the essential albums should; every song was a winner and across the whole set the standard did not drop. OK, it is a shorter than average album clocking in at 35 minutes, but then there are classic Beatles albums that only run to the half hour mark and essentially, this is a record that does all it needs to do within its time. Esther did make some reference to a relationship break up at the time of the release, which maybe explains why there is so much feeling and belief injected into every performance. The tune ‘Songs Remain’ is a splendid example of this as it appears to fondly yet a little mournfully, recall music indelibly connected to a partner. She sings the heavily loaded line “I am glad it was you who broke my heart, because it had to be you who broke my heart” seeming to suggest that the hurting has only served to instill those songs with greater meaning. The fade is quite poignant too, as the sound of a rocking western style tune cuts through to the backdrop of pouring down rain, like a brief audio flashback.

Even though heartbreak is a recurring theme on the record, it doesn’t ever become a song cycle that brings the listener down. Quite the opposite, even on the title track opener Esther is asking “how many times will you break my heart?” while the music is somehow celebratory, as if already picturing the day she emerges from this ordeal a stronger person. ‘Are You Out There’ acknowledges that there is no one on a New Year’s Eve or Saturday night that the singer wants to kiss, but as she asks the question the song sets out by name, there is more certainty than doubt bleeding into the enquiry. All the way the singer is finding strength even as she stands alone. This is an album that anyone determined to pick themselves up after a fall should make part of their musical life. The poppier moments, such as ‘Keeps Me Running,’ slide and swing like audio medicine that can only be administered on a honky-tonk hardwood floor while the more reflective numbers, such as the beautiful ‘When You Go,’ massage the heart strings and shower this set with the many shades of emotion tied to a relationship ending. The ace in Esther Rose’s pack though is that you do not really have to get too deep and heavy into those details to enjoy the record, these songs are just so musically satisfying, like sweet vintage sonic honey.

Get a vinyl pressing of the album here: https://www.discogs.com/release/19987084-Esther-Rose-How-Many-Times