Lanie Gardner - A Songwriter's Diary
BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville
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Having struggled to make a name for herself in music for several years, 25-year-old Lanie Gardner finally made something of a breakthrough with her cover of Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams, which went viral with over 55 million views. At the time, Lanie was close to giving up on her music dreams, and had returned home to Burnsville, North Carolina—Somewhere, Nowhere In Carolina—to lick her wounds and mend her broken heart. This aptly titled debut album is difficult to describe in simple terms, but one that deepens with each repeated listening. I know this, as I’ve spent a lot of time listening to A SONGWRITER’S DIARY while going through some tough times in my own life. Laney touches on friendship, love, home and reflection, the very qualities helping to fuel my own positivity in dark periods of doubt and despair. Lanie Gardner has a strong sense of self. Her singing voice is compelling, but not a traditional country one. It’s powerful, but not resonant, working well with her songs, though. This album is not quite country, but between the instrumentation and the singing, it also feels like something else; like seeing a familiar friend with a new dye job, capturing the satisfying immediacy of simply making and sharing music for its own sake, no higher purpose required.
As Lanie builds her new life and career, she is finding different ways to think about who she is and how to channel that through her music. No matter how positive it is, any life change brings a level of grief and sadness. You can’t reach out to the future without glancing back towards the past, or savour joy without acknowledging sorrow. In the hands of Lanie and the crack session players, her Songwriter’s Diary is a sad-tinged, yet hopeful story about getting through something that may have seemed bigger than you are. Sound familiar anyone?
The delicacy of the acoustic picking that sets the album’s tone on the reflective Somewhere, Nowhere In Carolina reels the listener in with its painfully honest lyricism. A stark, realistic look at the music industry’s less glamorous aspects, in a little over four minutes, this song sums up the frustration of a little-known singer’s struggle to make it, with the brutal realisation that it’s better to be happy amongst friends and ‘nowhere’ in your career, than losing your mind chasing a musical dream that is just hitting one brick wall after another. This is a song that should hit home for anyone who has fruitlessly chased their dreams and had to make the tough decision to throw in the towel and regroup. Luckily for us listeners, Lanie Gardner didn’t entirely give up her dream, but took a different, more honest direction, which has led nicely to this most personal of records, which also happens to be full to the brim of universal appeal.
Lanie has a way of writing songs that seem like stories you might hear from friends or someone you meet at a bar. Her songs are immediately familiar. They could easily fit in on radio stations across the world. This comes through time and time again, as in the autobiographical Mountains And Miller, she brings you into her own world, crossing from one heart to another with ease. Close your eyes, give a listen, and let this song take you on a ride. It’s a beautiful journey. Another song that returns Lanie to her beloved North Carolina is the sensitive Letters To Home, a theme of longing that often plays a pivotal role in country music. It is a very well written number. It doesn’t come across as corny or sappy, either. A timeless delicacy flows through the sweet heartbreaking Lady In The Sky, with gentle acoustic guitar and haunting pedal steel adding a ghostly atmosphere to her heartfelt vocals. These are the kind of songs you want to listen to repeatedly. And for a debut album, you really can’t ask for more than that.
October 2024