Rae Spoon - Assigned Country Singer at Birth
Queer country legend Rae Spoon returns to their genre assigned at birth -- one full of cunning, needle-point songwriting, writes Bee Delores.
Rae Spoon makes a monstrous comeback with their new record. With Assigned Country Singer at Birth, they lament that they "shed my gender, but this is so much worse," they sing in the title track, "and I can’t sound like anybody else." Spoon sounds nothing but themself, with a blistering, reedy vocal tone and a knack for needle-point songwriting that speaks to their experience in a deeply personal, yet wholly universal, way.
As they do with "Pray," a collab with Kue Varo, Spoon observes "two boys dancing in the moonlight" just out of the line of view of Christian bigots. Later, they add that these same queer kids "might not come back, or pick up the phone one day." That intentionality of speaking to the moment is pretty on brand for Spoon's work. As their 13th studio record, Assigned Country at Birth navigates the LGBTQIA+ journey, scars and bruises and all, with fresh eyes and a leaking pen. Some songs demand to be heard by the world, and that can certainly be said about these 10 new songs.
"It might be news to you, but you’re a drug user," Spoon sings, not mincing their words. "But don’t worry / We all are / So stop drawing lines about which drugs are right / 'Cause no one deserves to die." The song, "All Drugs Safe, Legal and Free," snaps the listener to attention in classic depressing-lyrics-wrapped-inside-a-jaunty-tune electricity. Vocal distortion fuels the frenetic flames, as Spoon's coos end up as purple smoke unfurling to the night sky.
The brutal cold of the world comes blowing on songs like "Osotomy Cowboy," in which Spoon regales this tale: "When I first got a bag, a nurse told me she’d rather be dead than living like me / Well, hey! That’s her problem." They shoot from the hip (unafraid to admit as much) through lyrics that jab and swipe at the throat. It also helps that they sing with a no-fucks confidence that seeps from their fingertips.
The big-horned "Not Too Sick to Live" is another deceiving number with blinding lyrics ("My sickness is a given while I am still living"), whereas "Can't Fall for Me," featuring Cassia Hardy, peels back the layers about fleeting time, stealing a moment of intimacy, and learning that life is for the taking. "There’s magic to make as long as we can," Spoon confides.
Rae Spoon is a devil. This deep into their career, they haven't lost their spark. On the contrary. They rev their creativity into overdrive for a body of work that scorches the earth they stand on, while also burning the whole establishment to the ground. Sometimes, you just have to pour gasoline and light the match.
