On The Download: Chely Wright Gets ‘Lifted’

A decade ago, Chely Wright was known for hits such as “Shut Up and Drive,” “It Was,” and her biggest hit to date, “Single White Female.” Now, after a five-year absence, Chely has just released her new album, “Lifted Off the Ground.” And that’s exactly how you feel after listening to this album.

I was a huge country music fan in the late ‘90s/early 2000s (when Chely was making a name for herself in the genre), so I’ve always been very familiar with her work. I wasn’t really sure what to expect from an artist I haven’t heard from in over five years, but after hearing the album, I was pleasantly surprised.

While Chely is now probably more publicly known for the fact that she recently came out in her new book, “Like Me,” she has always been known among country radio and country music fans. As someone who owns three of her previous albums and seen her in concert a few times, I was interested to find out what kind of music she’s been making recently. Now knowing everything she’s been through and the type of emotional journey she’s been on, it’s easy to listen to the album with an open mind and open heart. If you do that, you’ll come to find out how intensely and deeply personal these songs are. The album is basically like listening to her secret diary.

It’s a true country album at its core and Chely’s songwriting and voice are in fine form. “Hang Out in Your Heart” is a complicated love song while “Wish Me Away” is a heartbreaking number about daring someone to try and forget about her.

Chely reveals her dark side in “Notes to the Coroner” – a surprisingly upbeat song paired with rather macabre lyrics that allude to dying of a broken heart. She surprisingly shakes things up in “Damn Liar,” which is a fun breakup song, but it was quite shocking to listen to the lyrics as the song came to a close. It’s EXTREMELY rare for a country singer to use the “f-word” in a song, as Hank Williams, Jr. once sang about in his song “The F-Word”, but Chely has done it in this track. It’s a great “done me wrong” song. I couldn’t help but put it on repeat and turn the volume up.

The most personal song on the album is “Like Me.” If you’ve read her book, you know exactly who she’s singing about. It’s a sad, bittersweet song lamenting over a lost relationship and singling out very specific personality traits that she’s going to miss. Not only is it her most personal song, but also her most brave one.

Wright has talked about her fear of whether or not country music fans will receive her now that she has revealed that she’s gay. After hearing the songs on this album, I’m willing to say it’s a safe bet they will. After all, this is what country music is all about — heartbreak, heartfelt reality and honesty. Wright insightfully covers it all.