Iris DeMent from the album Workin’ on a World

Iris DeMent from the album Workin’ on a World

Iris DeMent (from the album Workin’ on a World available on Songs of Iris) (by Bryant Liggett)
The latest from Iris DeMent is piano heavy with equally message-heavy loaded lyrics. A protest, reflection, and awareness raising record, Iris DeMent has got a lot to say while the band backs with melodies to support, comfort, and accent her words. Workin’ on a World has Bluesy ballads and mid-tempo Roots Rockers, a album with meaty songs and a thick narrative.
The opening title track reveals that Iris DeMent has her work cut out for her, as she’s ‘working on a world’, freely admitting she may never enjoy the fruits of that labor. The inevitable does not stop Iris from trying. A Bluesy, barroom piano kicks off “Going Down to Sing in Texas” where she takes on the U.S. obsession with firearms, calls out trigger-happy police, and exposes untruths saying ‘we’ll all be so much safer, the biggest lie under the sun’. It is a brilliant commentary. Iris Dement drops tongue-in-cheek sarcasm and satire in the Goth Roots cut “Let Me Be Your Jesus” and the pedal steel and horns are heavy in the bouncy “Nothin’ for the Dead.”
Take away the lyrics and you’ve got a mix of ballads and toe-tappers, but these words are dropping a must-hear message, encouraging listening with wide open ears. Workin’ on a World is a smart, thinkers record, optimistic while also unafraid to call out a current state of affairs. Iris Dement claims that there is life out here in the United States, a tough place with stubborn people, many of whom need to hear these words the most. However, for her fans, Iris DeMent lovingly delivers intelligent ideals from a warm and caring voice.  (by Bryant Liggett)
Listen and buy the music of Iris DeMent from AMAZON
 
For more information head on over to the Iris DeMent website