Karen & the Sorrows - Guaranteed Broken Heart (2019)

Who among us can resist a Country album called GUARANTEED BROKEN HEART by a band called The Sorrows? Even without hearing a note I was pretty sure the contents would be right up my street.
Although her band are called The Sorrows, this is very much Country Music by and from singer-songwriter Karen Pittelman who originally formed the group way back in 2011; and this be their 3rd album.
Oh my, my preconceptions were proven correct yet again with the delicious Twang fest of the title track Guaranteed Broken Heart which opens the album. Ms. Pittelman has a delightful ‘quiver’ in her voice as it seems she is fighting back the tears on a Country Heartbreaker of the Deluxe variety, that comes at you like starving wildcat.
Things slow down to more of a romantic stroll on the next song, There You Are which features a vast array of instruments somehow creating an ‘Acoustic Wall of Sound’ behind Karen’s pained voice.
Two songs in and Karen & The Sorrows already prove what skilled and astute musicians they all are; and boy can they tug on the heartstrings!
The tempo moves up and down just like any tempestuous relationship in all its raw glory, with Karen’s rye and often bittersweet observations on love, loss and longing capturing the mood of each and every individual story quite majestically.
Tracks #4 and #5 sound like the yin and yang of one particular relationship; Why Won’t You Come Back To Me is so dark it’s very nearly Gothic, especially the choral chorus that builds and builds towards the end; and when the steel-guitar and fiddle come in a shiver will run down your back. Then, just as you are trying to get your emotions back in check she follows that with Your New Life Now, which is nearly too simplistic in its form; as Karen sounds positively frightening as she talks about her ex-lovers ‘New Life Now’. (*There ain’t nothing more scary than a scorned woman!)
While I presume the target demographic here is ‘brokenhearted young women’ …….. and trust me; they will buy this in their droves to wallow in late at night with a big bottle of red and a pair of scissors to cut up all of their old photos; but first and foremost songs like Third Time’s a Charm, Jonah and the Whale and It Ain’t Me are just sizzling Country songs that could have come from Music Row in the late 60’s but are very contemporary today in 2019.
For me, although not an ‘easy listen’ – and it’s not meant to be, this has been a joy as I’ve discovered another exciting songwriting talent; one who can not just get to the heart of the matter in When People Show You Who They Are or Something True; but make a very stark and deeply personal story very accessible; although you may feel like an eavesdropper at times.
What I especially like here; and it’s true of many albums I hear, is that there is no dead weight on this album; no ‘filler’ …….. every song deserves its place and each song is especially constructed to bring the best out of Karen Pittelman’s exquisite storytelling; and none more so than my Favourite Song, Queen of Denial which is another where she sounds like she’s fighting back the tears on a song that will resonate in one way or another with everyone who hears it, be they male, female or other.
Reading her bio has been interesting as it seems Karen Pittelman has been quite a ‘trailblazer’ over the years writing about and fighting for sexual equality in not just Country Music, but the Music Industry in general writing articles for some hard hitting and international publications; but here at RMHQ we aim to change the world ‘one song at a time’ and Karen & The Sorrows are going to help us in that quest.