Love And Friendship With Babygirl

Bruce Von Stiers

cf Watkins is an Americana and pop singer-songwriter. Her music has a styling that has drawn comparisons to folk greats such as Joni Mitchell. One fellow reviewer wrote Watkin's music has a quality that distinguishes it from average Americana.

This year finds Watkins with a brand new album. The album is titled Babygirl. The album has a stated theme of empowerment and strong female relationships.

Babygirl has eleven songs and a playtime of thirty-nine minutes. All of the songs on the album were written by Watkins.

Max Hart has worked with artists such as Katy Perry and Melissa Etheridge. He handled the production for this album, along with playing guitar, pedal steel, dobro, keys and synth.

Watkins has brought in some heavy hitters to play the album with her. Bennett Sullivan is on banjo for one song. Aside from playing on albums for other artists, Sullivan heads up his own trio in Asheville, North Carolina. Having played on albums for Elvis Costello and Robbie Williams, Alex Budman plays tenor sax for two songs on this album. Nick Daley is on trombone for a couple of songs. Recently he played trombone on albums by Lady Gaga and Avenged Sevenfold. Aside from being a member of the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas, cellist Caleigh Drane has played for The Jonas Brothers and Ra Ra Riot among other top artists. She plays cello on two songs on this album. Rich Hinman has played on albums by Sara Bareilles and Tanya Tucker along with others like Vulfpeck. He plays guitar on three of the songs on this album. A founding member of the Grammy-winning Punch Brothers, Gabe Witcher plays fiddle on one song for this album. Ross Gallagher is on bass for one song. He leads his own jazz trio and has collaborated on several albums. Garrett Lang has been featured at events such as the Angel City Jazz Festival. He plays the bass on four of the songs on this album. Anna Butterss has played on albums by Greg Copeland and Phoebe Bridgers. She plays bass on six of the songs on this album. Keith Garner is known for his drumming in bands like We Are Scientists. He plays drums on a couple of songs on this album. Eric Gardner is the drummer for most of the album. He's known for his work with artists such as KT Tunstall.

The Tell has a bit of pop tone mingled with Americana. Listening to parts of it made me think of Edie Brickell.

Changeable has a country / folk tone. The vocals are melodic and there is great music. He's fallen in love with her but she's as “changeable as the moon” and she'd never forgive herself for hurting him.

The title track, Babygirl, is a terrific love song with fluid vocals and a cool pop / Americana music mix. But it isn't a typical love song. In interviews, Watkins says the song is an ode to the relationships she has with her best girlfriends.

Dogwood has a solid Americana tone with great pedal steel.

Holly has an almost alt folk rock sound with solid guitar and nice vocals.

Frances is an endearing ballad about cf's grandmother, who died before she was born. Through a strong bond with her grandfather, cf could feel her grandmother's presence.

Come Around is s slick pop folk song with cool horn playing and drums.

Westfield has a country flavor with a touch of Americana/ pop.

New Hampshire is a toe tapping, lyrical ballad.

Little Thing has some really cool guitar amid cool vocals in a slick ballad. I know that I've been using ballad to describe most of the songs on the album. But to me, they are pretty much all ballad types of songs.

White Nights is a beautiful song with great steel pedal. It tells a story of longing and love not fulfilled.

The songs on Babygirl reflect Watkins' maturity as an artist and her personal growth in relationships. They are filled with love and loss and friendships wrapped up in a unique styling that mixes pop and Americana for a remarkable listening experience.

Babygirl will be released on October 16th .

The official web site for cf Watkins is http://www.cfwatkins.com She also has a music page on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cf.watkins.music/ And she has a Twitter account at https://twitter.com/cf_watkins

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© 2020 Bruce E Von Stiers