Lesley Barth - "Nashville"

Photo by Harish Pathak

For a song called "Nashville," this one isn't very country. Sure, Lesley Barth's song has some country elements, but they are minimal, at most. "Nashville" is a gorgeously wrought indie folk song. It has a dark, intense feel that starts off with just Bath's vocals, a strummed guitar, and haunting strings nearly hidden way in the back. It builds almost impossibly slowly with drums and more strings joining.

Lesley Barth explains "Nashville": "I challenged myself to write 30 songs in 30 days to celebrate turning 30 (i.e. avoid thinking about turning 30), and this song came out of that.  I was still working at my corporate job at a tech company, and I ostensibly wrote this song about a guy my husband played with once, who had a great voice and presence and wrote good country tunes, but played in bars in New York City.  Of course, I realized later this song was about me and my feeling that I wasn’t where I was supposed to be.  I think we all have places, settings, jobs, that make us feel more or less comfortable in our own skin.  I’ve played this song in nearly every live solo set the past two years and it’s often a crowd favorite, so it’s exciting to share the full-band version.  I wanted it to have a bit of that neon cowboy camp, and I’m really happy with the unexpectedness of the production."

You can listen to "Nashville" below. Big Time Baby, the upcoming album from Lesley Barth, will be out May 15. You can pre-order a copy at Bandcamp. For more on Lesley Barth, check out her website.

Lesley Barth · Nashville