Lauren Morrow Ditches the Whiskey for Solo EP

Lauren Morrow, the lead singer of successful Atlanta-based country act The Whiskey Gentry, doesn’t drink alone on her debut solo release. Instead, the self-titled EP teams her with husband and longtime band mate Jason Morrow and a stable of Nashville-based talents, including former Deer Tick keyboardist Robbie Crowell. Even with a stacked supporting cast, it’s Morrow’s familiar vocal talents and storytelling acumen that’ll leave listeners wanting more than just a four-song sampling.

Half of the EP builds stories around two songs’ title characters. “Vicki Lynn” goes from a tumultuous life in Alabama to birthing the narrator in Atlanta, making it more of a hard-luck story than a dead-end tragedy. To avoid spoilers, let’s just say that the tale of “Barbara Jean” quickly goes down a dark and murderous path.

In between those two detailed narratives, Morrow unleashes the beautiful yet brash “I Don’t Think About You at All” and a more upbeat declaration of personal independence titled “Mess Around.”

From start to finish, the four-song collection flaunts the songwriting chops, vocal range and storytelling skills of a local artist with the potential to bring a little more Georgia twang to the international Americana scene.