The Young Fables swing for the fences

The Young Fables – Short Stories

The Young Fables swing for the fences

Pop country is now more popular than it’s been since the 1990s, and the field is wide open for bands to stand out. With Short Stories,The Young Fables are making their own bid for fame – and they may pull it off!

The Young Fables, Laurel Wright and Wes Lunsford, first began grabbing attention in 2021 with their crowdfunded album Pages, a stripped-down tribute to classic country packed with tracks that sound like they could have been written any time in the past fifty years. That gained them notice, air play, and a lot of new fans. 

Now, with Short Stories, the Young Fables’ sound has evolved. It weaves a much richer tonal tapestry, with a wider variety of influences. The production is more prominent, and they often veer away from traditional country into folk-rock space, and further beyond.

Folk For The 2020s

The heart of Short Stories is still deeply country, but the vibe has modernized. This is an album which is swinging for the fences, looking to be a cross-market crowd-pleaser, and largely pulls it off.

At first, not much seems to have changed. The album opener, Ain’t It Something, is as traditional as country gets – a slow-paced ode to the contradictions of love. It’s worthless, yet worth everything. As openers go, it isn’t the most ear-catching, but it seems like it’s reassuring people that the core Young Fables sound is still there.

The next several tracks remain rooted in their folk-country roots, with few deviations. My Twenties is a poignant look back at her messy previous decade, with an extra side of melancholy knowing she’d gone through genuine tragedy, losing both her father and her sister as her music career was taking off.

Second Time Around is when modernized elements first start to creep in, with a prominent electric guitar solo that harkens back to classic Stevie Ray.

Then, following the pretty but unexceptional Drive, things take a big turn in Come Find Me. In this story, her man has left because he has personal issues to sort out, while she’s hoping he comes back to her. The surprise is the sudden appearance of a laid-back rap verse, as the man in question apologizes for his absence and recommits to her. A very sweet, wholesome twist, but one which also heralds the album’s shift away from pure country.

For many, the standout track will undoubtedly be Reasons To Cry, an upbeat anthemic power ballad about moving past depression and personal issues. She’s also unafraid to swear, openly shouting “I’m fucked up!” and turning it into self-affirmation. The track absolutely screams “hit single,” and it could easily find a lot of fans who relate to her proud attempt to carry on.

However, possibly the most surprising swerve comes next: Greener, a psychedelic country stoner salute to marijuana with an extremely catchy chorus. It even goes full retro with a distorted prog-rock guitar that sounds like it’s going through a Heil talkbox, culminating in a solo that could come from a David Gilmour album. Like Reasons to Cry, it has huge hit potential, and further makes it clear that Young Fables really want to expand their appeal beyond the pure country space.

After this blast of modernism in the middle of the album, things get dialed back a bit for the final third. Fighter is an ode to her momma, in pure country tradition. Again, knowing the Fables’ tragic backstory – related in their award-winning documentary The Fable of a Song – adds extra resonance to the song and its sincere tribute.

From there, the album rambles its way towards its conclusion. Good at Hurtin’ is another discussion of the difficulties and mental trials in modern life, with a touch of an Appalachian vibe in the rimshot percussion. These Days covers another lost love, and her wishing for him to return. Lemon Sky tries to provide a wistfully hopeful cap to the album, looking towards a more positive future.

The Young Fables Are Writing Their Own Story

Overall, Young Fables’ greatest strength is their ability to capture the emotional ups-and-downs of modern life. Their songs are deeply relatable to anyone who often feels their sanity slipping, or is simply overwhelmed by the nonstop drama of the world today. Also, they do so without getting political, which is refreshing given how controversial many recent country hits have been.

If there’s a flaw in this album, it’s only that it can be a bit thematically repetitive, especially makeup/breakup love songs.

However, that shouldn’t hold people back from checking out Short Stories. The Young Fables have just been picked up by BMG Music, and it will undoubtedly get a significant push. This could easily be the album that gets them mainstream notice, with several great standout tracks. Highly recommended.

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