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Music Review: Kelly McGrath – ‘Preaching to the Choir’ Is Simply Yummy Country Pop

“Sugar and spice, and everything nice” pretty much sums up Kelly McGrath’s musical style. Her new single, “Preaching to the Choir,” drops today, March 30. The song is from her forthcoming Kites EP, which is scheduled to drop in May. The tune, written with Mason Douglas, was produced by Brad Hill and Ethan Roberts with an unusual production style similar to that of Ingrid Michaelson and the Beatles.

According to McGrath, the inspiration for the song is that moment when you find “someone you have a connection with and the nervousness, anxiousness and fear of not knowing how they feel about you and if and when you should disclose your feelings, will they feel the same way capturing those vulnerable first feelings of falling in love.”

“Preaching to the Choir” opens with jaunty crying guitars, followed by McGrath’s delightfully inflected voice, imbuing the tune with country twang and a tantalizing exotic timbre that’s a little akin to Dolly Parton, but with more sonic clarity. Riding a bouncy country pop flavor, the flow of the song walks, then skips, then twirls, thus adding eccentric harmonic mannerisms that give the tune bravura underscored by breezy ebullience and optimism.

I love the lyrics of the song because they express emotional truth in simple terms. And this simplicity infuses the words with romantic value.

“You say / You’re afraid of falling / And that you just got back / Up on your feet / You keep / A little piece of your heart buried / Waiting for the right one / It just might be me / Baby I got news for you / I’m right where you are too / I’m feeling the same way / I hear just what you’re saying / Understand I’m right there with you baby / Every time we’re together you can feel this fire burning brighter / Baby you’re preaching to the choir.”

I really like “Preaching to the Choir.” It is mainstream country pop in flavor and color, but different and refreshing. The unconventional feel of the music provides it with a soul, while McGrath’s yummy articulation imbues the lyrics with mischievous honesty.

Follow Kelly McGrath on her website, Facebook, and Twitter.

About Randall Radic

Left Coast author and writer. Author of numerous true crime books written under the pen-name of John Lee Brook. Former music contributor at Huff Post.

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