Today's Country

On their debut full-length “Avoid Heat and Flame,” Tabatha and Southern Fry’d prove that you can take more traditional based influences like Mary Chapin Carpenter and The Judds and mix them perfectly with enough of a modern country sound so that mainstream radio takes notice. This is evident the minute you hit play and the opening notes of the rocking country song “Stubborn” begin. Tabatha’s vocals are a perfect fit for this tongue and cheek, modern styled song that shows exactly what it means to be a strong woman in the midst of a fight with your man. Once you are drawn into the album, you start to see the more traditional, honky tonk, side shine through on tracks like “Next Train” and “Hank It Up,” both that will have your boot heels clicking on the dance floor. And, to round everything out, it is the ballad that truly seals the deal for this album and makes you want to hear more. “Give Me Back My Wings,” brings an incredible lyric a bout the struggles of moving on from a love that you wanted to be perfect that just isn’t, while “Change,” takes a look at your own life and dealing with the mistakes and regrets that you’re trying to face. With a core of Nashville’s best songwriters such as Rivers Rutherford, Noah Gordon, etc… taking part on this album, it was enough to peak my interest, and once Tabatha’s voice kicked in and delivered the incredible lyrics about real life and it’s up’s and down’s she easily had me hooked and connecting with this first batch of songs from a great new artist.