Album Review: Whitney Rose 'Heartbreaker Of The Year'

Canada’s Whitney Rose will release her sophomore record, Heartbreaker of the Year, on Cameron House Records, via Redeye Worldwide, on August 21st. The Raul Malo produced album was recorded in just four days at Toronto’s Revolution Studios and contains eight originals and two covers: Hank Williams’ “There’s a Tear in My Beer” and the Ronettes’ “Be My Baby,” on which she and Malo duet. Malo also contributes vocals, guitar and percussion throughout, accompanied by fellow Mavericks Jerry Dale McFadden (keyboards), Paul Deakin (drums) and Jay Weaver (bass), as well as Burke Carroll (steel guitar, dobro, lap steel) and Drew Jurecka (strings), plus Rose’s guitarist/mandolinist Nichol Robertson.

The instrumentation, as well as Malo’s production, is stellar while Rose has the ability to capture a myriad of emotions with her vocals, simultaneously conveying a sweetness, yet hinting of a fiery sassiness. Sonically, the songs will take you to back to a different era, but her lyrics are modern day; simple, well-written, thoughtful, witty, and sometimes biting.  

Opening track “Little Piece of You” finds her listing the qualities of someone she wants to know better; someone with an old school soul, an open mind, and a heart of gold. With its western cadence, “My First Rodeo” deals with personal changes and those all-important firsts.

In contrast, the nostalgic and sorrowful “The Last Party” remembers the things that turned out to be the “lasts” of a relationship. That is followed by “Only Just A Dream,” a song that could be described as a part two, in which the shuffling beat compares a lost love to a dream. Love and loss are also dealt with in “Ain’t It Wise,” a sad song about being hurt by someone but still wanting to love them and “Lasso” about the strong pull of a man she can’t escape.

The title track, with its menacing finger snaps and guitar work, tells the story from the perspective of the heartbroken, who is ready to crown the man who wronged her the “heartbreaker of the year” while ensuring that it doesn’t happen to her again. “Your mama’s probably smilin’, wiping away proud tears/If I wear a sparkling gown, can I be the one to crown the heartbreaker of the year?”

“The Devil Borrowed My Boots Last Night” and “There’s A Tear In My Beer” round out the collection. The former has an incredibly funky melody and clever lyrics that provide a new line for women everywhere to use when they do something out of character, while the latter, done almost in the vein of a lullaby, closes the record in a unique way.

Rose is an old soul; someone who successfully connects with a classic sound from yesteryear that listeners will find easy to fall in love with. And contrary to its title, the only reason the record will leave you heartbroken is when it’s over…and thankfully, you can play it again. 

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