Katie Pruitt -- Mantras
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Katie Pruitt does not let anyone off the hook on her new album Mantras. I interviewed Pruitt for No Depression when she was just beginning this album, so it’s no surprise that religion is the big theme on this album: rejecting it, finding a new path, rejecting all the other unspoken rules that weigh us down and how they link back to an oppressive interpretation of Christianity. Pruitt‘s booming voice brings power to these intimate power pop tracks: they may be vulnerable, they me be self-excoriating, but more than anything else, these songs are a new gospel of self-acceptance.
Pruitt gets to the point quickly on “All My Friends.” Here, Pruitt sets the stage for an examination of her own faith in contrast to the one she was raised with. This simple folk song is not just a rejection of faith, but an expression of loneliness upon the realization that Pruitt cannot relate to her cohort anymore — assuming she could in the first place. The jaunty rock riff softens the song’s edges, but also gives it a liberating air, a rejection of what weighs us down, even amidst the uncertainty of what could come next.
On “White Lies, What Jesus, And You,” Pruitt deftly illustrates how Christianity has become corrupted in the hands of the hateful — and how it is inextricably tied to racism and sexism. “Leading Actress” and “The Waitress” continue to explore how feminine self-sacrifice prop up destructive institutions at the expense of women’s souls.
For me, the knockout punch is “Jealous of the Boys,” a gentle but probing examination of that sweet spot between queer desire, raging against patriarchy, gender dysphoria, and searching for the language to describe what those around you find unspeakable. If Beyonce’s “If I Was a Boy” had coherent politics, this might be where it would land — though it’s because of Pruitt’s perceptiveness and gentle pushes that this song lands as gracefully as it does.
Mantras has a sweeping, inexorable flow that makes the contrast between the jangling guitar chords of “All My Friends” and the final orchestral strings on “Standstill” feel of a piece. This is an album for letting go — and finding the building blocks of something new.
Katie Pruitt — Official, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Bandcamp
We’re right in the middle of the fundraiser for issue 4 of the Rainbow Rodeo zine! If you want to keep supporting queer country artists like Katie Pruitt, pre-order your copy, cop a t-shirt, or make a donation here!
