Album Review: Mickey Guyton, Remember Her Name

Beneath the clear-eyed country pop of Arlington singer Mickey Guyton's debut LP, Remember Her Name, lies tension. A tug-of-war rages between celebrating your uniqueness and being targeted for your differences, between her love for America and the unjust experience of being Black and a woman, in country music, no less.

With a racing rhythm, ample fingersnaps, and body positive message, it's easy to mistake “Different” for a Janelle Monae or Lizzo smash. Guyton also leans outside standard country form by pairing trap snares with leisurely banjo and mandolin on “Smoke” and topping warm keys with electronic percussion on “Words.”

Her patriotism runs thick on “All American.” Over heavy hanging piano chords, she beams, “We're the stars in the Texas sky” and “We're the New York City lights,” before asking on the soaring chorus, “Ain't we all American?” But on “Black Like Me,” she counters: “If you think we live in the land of the free / You should try to be Black like me.”

Guyton chases such heavy topics with songs like “Rosé.” The ode to vino is the summer anthem that came two months too late.

Expansive, bold, fearless, and fun, Remember Her Name is a poised and purposeful leap forward for Guyton, delivering on the promise shown on her string of EPs dating back to 2014.

Remember Her Name was released September 24, 2021 on Capitol Nashville.
Listen to it here.