Betsy Phillips - Like We’re Talking (2019)

Betsy Phillips has always known what she wanted. She moved to Nashville from Omaha intent on becoming a musician. “I didn’t move to Nashville knowing how to write great songs, but I decided that writing songs was something I was going to do, and something I was going to be good at.” In the seven years that have passed, she has taken her time, studied her craft, and prepared for Like We’re Taking.
She’s also good at making choices, like producer Dan Knobler who’s worked with Lake Street Dive and Rodney Crowell; guitarist Anthony da Costa notable for his work with Sarah Jarosz and Joy Williams, and Ethan Jodziewicz of the Milk Carton Kids who handled the bass. Their complementary approach and attention to detail has produced an album of subtle beauty. As a songwriter, Phillips deals with the same issues of many songwriters. Yet what makes her songs unique is the angle that she takes. Yours To Forget deals with the emotions of a woman who is clearly not in control the relationship. “I know what this is, know it’s a game to you, but to me, I can read your mind.” Yet beyond the game that’s going on, there is an even greater underlying sadness, “you are not mine, but I am yours to forget.” Visiting the old haunts is something of a universal truth. Driving past the old homestead, remembering sounds, smells, moments frozen in time. We Don’t Stay captures those moments from Betsy and her sister’s old house in Atkinson, Nebraska. There are times that still linger, “We made so many memories there and decades later still feel such a desire to just go see how it’s changed.” Not always taking the path of a confessional singer/songwriter, Betsy’s Seeds explores different kinds of heartbreak, as she wonders about losing someone you promised to love forever. At the end of the day, there are never enough reasons, and Seeds simply deals with the emotions of finally saying goodbye. Someone Like You is the happy song. Amidst a sea of heartbreak, it feels fresh and alive, full of the joy that comes from requited love, “All I ever wanted was someone like you.” Betsy Phillips is one of those singers who simply refused to be denied. And it really shouldn’t be surprising. What seems like leaps of faith to others are simply realities for some artists. It’s not enough just to have faith, you have to have talent too. Like We’re Talking proves she has plenty of both.