(2020) Suzanne Vallie - Love Lives Where Rules Die


Review:
In the midst of heartbreak the mind craves a certain kind of order, and for Suzanne Vallie Love Lives Where Rules Die provides the order to deal with the chaos of a failed relationship. And what better place to find your way back than in rural Big Sur, driving down California’s central coast with the radio blaring? Wistfully sad, Ocean Cliff Drive sets off on a trip down Highway 1, fighting off fog and rain. Guitar and keys set the tone, “I’m begging I want to start a kiss with no ending/Honey, I can’t see/the road ahead of me/but I’m coming.” Yet when relationships are done even begging doesn’t do much good. Removed from any sense of fragility, Beauty From Blue Country offers a sense of possible rebirth. While still slightly saddened there’s a genuine feeling of movement, yet which direction is still the issue. “I am all I am/I’m right here/come on with me/ come on now with me/I can see in the dark.” The path out of heartbreak isn’t always one that’s straight. The crooked road of Love Lives Where Rules Die isn’t so much of an emotional backsliding as it is a place of respite and renewal. Getting together with a group of friends, Suzanne is able to show up fully. A baritone guitar takes the lead, mixing together resonance and rebirth, “It’s because my heart is broken/I want to hear a love song/you sing it for me/holding all the long notes.” The way forward comes clear with I Know the Way. Her voice builds with the music as the song begins to offer hope for a future. Amidst the acoustic guitar and keyboards, Vallie’s small voice gathers a sense of weight to weather the storms. “I build what I can out of leftover stuff/my body and prayers is what makes it all up.” A Springsteen-ian jumble of words coming at you a mile a minute, Morrow Bay is a tale of loose limbs and moral flaws, moments bathed in unbridled passion. Bass and drums in the forefront as the thoughts spill out, “I got perfect love and I think you should know/I got kicked in the nose and I think it still shows.” Sometimes it’s less about Mr. Right and more about Mr. Right-now. An album that picks up steam and spirit moving on to better days, Suzanne Vallie’s Love Lives Where Rules Die lights the darkness that can live within our hearts. Life is a choice and choosing to live is choosing to find the moments that matter.


Media Report:
Genre: dream-pop, indie-folk
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits