Shoebox Letters - I'm into Now (Click to watch the video)

29 February 2020

I’m Into Now captures melancholy in a bottle. If that doesn’t sound like a compliment, you’ve not listened to much country or folk. The goal of both is often to accompany those moments when you are too sad and tired to even sing the blues. In the words of Dave Hickney, a legendary art critic, “every love song is a sad song.”

Shoebox Letters, playing their new collection of songs from emotively effective songwriters Dennis Winslow and Susan Lowery, present a short, heartfelt, and resonant album. They have a refreshingly clear conception of their identity and know exactly how to deliver. They are playing slow and mid-tempo country ballads with intimate, conversational lyrics. The band explores the matters the heart with simplicity, hitting the right notes without unnecessary ornamentation or eccentricity.

“I Drink for Two” is a beautiful reflection on loneliness, while “Forever in Love” captures the power of romance, whether it is experienced or imagined.

The opening line of “Last Night’s Lie” illustrates the deft and easy touch that Lowery has with lyrics – “Last night’s lie is still on my lips.”

One might worry that so much of the record stays in the same gear, and also deals with the same subject matter. Despite the lack of variety and tempo, the songs all succeed in creating a mood and sustaining it.

I’m Into Now makes for great contemporary country listening.

David Masciotra (www.davidmasciotra.com) is the author of four books, including Barack Obama: Invisible Man (Eyewear Publishing, 2017) and Mellencamp: American Troubadour (University Press of Kentucky, 2015).

To read all of David's reviews, click here 

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