Review ‘House on Fire’ by Mickey Guyton: Country singer Blazes Trails

Mickey Guyton was heralded as one of country music’s most important voices long before the release of her breathtaking 2021 debut. Remember her name. Her incisive 2020 singles, “What Are You Gonna Tell Her” and “Black Like Me,” challenged the genre and its listeners with tough questions about gender equality and race, even catching the attention of Beyoncé, who flowers her fellow Texan sent after the release of Cowboy Carter to thank Guyton for opening doors for black women in the country.

On her second album, House on fireGuyton continues to break new ground and deliver on her promise, delivering a collection of songs that effortlessly transport her into her dance-pop era. In ‘My Side of the Country’ and ‘Make It Me’, two songs she co-wrote with former Florida Georgia Line singer Tyler Hubbard, she mixes country meanings with an upbeat production. “We got short beds and tall boys in cowboy boots/We wear Levi’s, take slow rides on Sundays too,” she sings over jangly Chic guitars in the single “My Side of the Country.” In the come-on “Make It Me,” she shouts “Jack and Coke” and tries to convince her love interest of her appeal: “If you want to spend the night with someone / Make it me.” Both are certified bangers, tailor-made for the dance floor.

But while there’s a clear party going on throughout the album – “Make ‘Em Like You” is another irresistible blast of ABBA country – other songs are sharper, like the sharp indictment of a checked-out lover, “Little Man.” ” “Baby, if you care/I can meet you more than halfway,” Guyton pleads, before ultimately realizing that she is the only one growing up in this relationship. She returns to the idea of ​​finding “a real man” in “Deserve,” ideally a man who puts her first and doesn’t get lost in his own image.

“I Still Do” closes with Guyton’s best performance on the LP. A smoldering promise of dedication and devotion, it is a reminder of Guyton’s innate soulful voice and the pipes that drive him. House on fire – as much a ‘country album’ in 2024 as Post Malone’s F-1 trillion — sometimes leans a little too far towards dance, but it is difficult not to give in to its charms. In an era that many hope will be marked by joy, Guyton provides the soundtrack.