Album Review: Ruby Boots 'Solitude'

Five-time winner of West Australian Music Awards’ “Best Country Music Act,” Ruby Boots (Bex Chilcott) lives and breathes music, becoming one of the pre-eminent Australian artists on the Americana/alt-country scene. In 2015 she released her critically acclaimed debut album, Solitude, a ten song collection that includes “Wrap Me In A Fever,” the West Australian Music (WAM) 2015 Country Song of The Year.
​
Released on the iconic alt-country label Lost Highway Records in Australia, Solitude will bring your ears to attention at first listen. Chilcott can rouse deep emotion with her sharp lyrics and full-bodied passionate voice whether singing about hurt and relationships or living free. Opening track, “Cola and Wine” will draw you in with it’s opening line, “Is your bottle half empty or is it too full?” and genuine roots-rock melody as does the melancholy “Ruby Blue” on which she sings “Thirsty as a river runs deep for you.” There’s a frailty to the pedal steel driven “Middle of Nowhere” while “Lovin’ In The Fall” about coming to the realization that maybe you found the one to tame your heart, begs a twirl on the dance floor “Now I thought I could go on home, not give it another thought/But lying to yourself is the hardest part.” The album is rounded out with the retro feel of “Baby Pull Over,” the twang of “Walk Away,” the keys centered “No Stranger” and the quite superb “Long Time Coming.”

It’s a record you’ll most definitely want to give a listen, or two, or three…but don’t keep it to yourself, as Solitude begs to be shared. 

---