With honest emotion and raw guitars Romi Mayes is emerges from Canada and delivers a gut punch on her new release Achin’ in Yer Bones. The album was produced by none other than Gurf Morlix, who also plays and contributes vocals to the project. Mayes is at times as unfiltered and plain spoken as Mary Gauthier. At other times her sound is more refined. Then there are songs like “Tire Marks” where she is just a bad ass. She is a Country singer with a Blues attitude, but Dusty Springfield also haunts the dark recesses of the album. Even when Mayes displays her softer side it has a hard edge. On “I Won’t Cry” she watches her lover go and although it hurts, she puts it in perspective and vows to move on. “I’ve been around the block I know the pain of loss. It ain’t nothing new. I’ve lost my father, my sister, my heroes and lovers like you … I won’t cry, not for you.” Almost as if proving her point, she follows that song with “If the Lord Don’t Love You,” a straight on in your face Blues rocker. Mayes has previously won the WCMA Songwriter of the year award and I feel certain more notoriety is in her future. She is about to head to Europe where she has already developed a following. I hope she can increase her following in the US. There are certain artists that are just honest and sing from the heart. Listening to Romi Mayes you can feel the earnest emotion. This is real. Most people avoid reality. They chose instead to watch reality television , which is anything but real. On Achin’ in Yer Bones you can’t avoid reality. It is right in front of you.
