You know, there are times when I can't help but get a feeling that an artist is about to reach a new level in their career. Their songs start doing better and better, more and more people start talking about them - there's a lot of signs that it's going to happen. And if you ask me, this is exactly where Katie Armiger is right now. Her last couple of singles have done pretty well and "Better In A Black Dress" is the fastest rising single in her career to date. That next level is right within her reach and this could very easily be the song to get her there.
Yeah, I really like this song. Find out why after the cut.
This is a breakup song with a healthy dose of attitude and one thing I've observed about country fans is that they like these kinds of songs. A lot, in fact. My guess is because it's something people can relate to. As long as there's relationships that need to end, they'll be songs like this. The tricky thing about this is if you're going to release a song in this vein, you really need to make the effort to make it unique. Otherwise it becomes just another breakup song and if you're an artist, that is the last thing you want. No, what you want is to take a sentiment that people can relate to and present it in a fresh way. Something that this song does.
Written be Katie and Blair Daly, this song is about a woman who is in no uncertain terms telling her now ex that she's not ready to get married. Why? Because she's better in a black dress, of course. Right off the bat I love the contrast between the white wedding dress and the classic black dress. I find this effective on multiple levels, the most important being the inferred meaning of each dress. One represents settling down and committing to one person for as long as you both should live. The other represents having fun and not settling down any time soon. So there's that. What takes it up a notch is that the lyrics lay it all on the line in a very clear-cut way. There's no gray areas here; it's very much a black and white situation. Which brings us back to the colors of the dresses. This song was very well thought out and well written.
Some highlights: "I'm just a girl, I'm not a wife/ I just need a little time to live my life/ I wanna dance, I wanna yell/ I want a band, I don't want no wedding bells" or "So take that gown and lay it down to rest/ Because I'm better in a black dress". Some really good lyrics in this song and it has the bonus of being very singable. Always a good thing.
Musically, I love the opening on this and the tension that's present from the first note on. The band starts to come in and it sort of chugs along in an ominous kind of way. Then it eases back for a couple of lines and kicks back in for the chorus. A pattern that repeats into the next verse. The band kind of lays back a bit in this and I'm so happy that's how they did it because that's really how it needed to be done. Anything more and it wouldn't have worked anywhere near as well. Some really good, solid playing on here and great production on it as well.
As far as the vocal, the first thing I want to say is that I feel like Katie Armiger is a little underrated as a vocalist. Hopefully that'll start to change as more people start listening to her. She has a wonderful, rich tone to her voice that suits this song perfectly. I really like the way she sings this song. The thing about singing with attitude is that there's often a fine line between a great delivery or one that's just too over the top. The latter of which can ruin a song. Of course, the flip side of this is that not enough attitude can also ruin a song. There's a balance that has to happen and that balance was reached here. There's just enough attitude to sell it and that's what you want.
"Better In A Black Dress" is already off to a strong start and the video for it is great. I see good things ahead for this single. If anyone out there hasn't been paying attention to Katie Armiger, now is the time to start. If this is any indication of how her next CD is going to be, I predict great things for her career. She's definitely one to watch.
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