Independent

Release Date: October 13th 2023

Reviewed by: Joshua Andre

Nicolle Galyon– Second Wife – EP (Amazon mp3/iTunes)

Track Listing:

1. Jo
2. Prenup
3. The Grain
4. Rooms
5. Texas Hold ‘Em
6. Under The Rainbow

By the time you’re reading this review, you probably know that one of my favourite music genres at the moment is the country genre. It wasn’t in the past, but ever since I listened to Carrie Underwood’s album Cry Pretty way back in 2018 around about 5 years ago, I’ve found that country music is so incredibly raw, personal, honest, vulnerable, and emotional. You can also read from my country reviews here, that I have resonated deeply with country music over the past few years, even though I’m not from America. Nowadays, I’m much more inclined to listen to and resonate with a country album, than with a worship album or a CCM album. Yep, that’s how much I love country music, and from this year and last year alone, as a site we’ve reviewed albums and EP’s from Dennis Quaid, Alana Springsteen, Megan Moroney, Ashley Cooke, Caitlyn Shadbolt, King Calaway, Tim & The Glory Boys, Ward Thomas, Dan + Shay, Tyler Hubbard, Cheat Codes, Nate Smith, Walker Hayes, Lauren Alaina, Darius Rucker, Brett Young, Karissa Ella, Meghan Patrick, Shannon Noll, Brooke McClymont & Adam Eckersley, Hannah Ellis, Old Dominion, Shania Twain and Chapel Hart to name a few; and we’re also planning to review in the future, albums from Alexandra Kay, Tim McGraw, Emily Ann Roberts, Anne Wilson, Gabby Barrett, Tenille Arts, Restless Road, Kylie Morgan, Maggie Baugh, and Sophia Scott. I firmly reckon there’s never been a better time to listen to country music than this year… and this sentiment is confirmed in this next project that I have decided to review. Singer/songwriter Nicolle Galyon is incredibly famous in the country music scene for writing plenty of hits with a lot of country artists. Nicolle is a songwriter first and foremost (like other songwriters like Dianne Warren, Julia Michaels, and Jason Ingram); and so, I was intrigued when I heard of her debut album releasing in 2022. We reviewed firstborn here; but the essence was that yes, I knew I wanted to listen to the album, but boy, I wasn’t prepared for the level of awesomeness and inspiration that has flowed from Nicolle’s pen to our ears. firstborn, though labelled country, is more reflective ballads, and if that isn’t your thing, then you can just coast on by to another artist that resonates more with you. But if you’re willing to give Firstborn a chance; then I reckon you may have just found one of the albums of the year of 2022.

Fast forward to now, and Nicolle is back with her second release second wife. And apart from the quotes from interviews I embedded in my review of firstborn; I still don’t know much about Nicolle and her story and her background. Does this lack of knowledge come as a help or a hindrance as I analyse and briefly touch upon this new release? I’d say… an unequivocal no, as in my lack of knowledge of Nicolle isn’t a hindrance, but actually something that works in my favour. When listening to firstborn, as well as second wife; I feel that I don’t need to know all of the details of Nicolle’s life. Because these two releases tell the story of Nicolle’s life quite well- with the second release being specifically about her marriage and the ups and downs. Opening up with the powerful and poignant “Jo”, this 1 minute introduction speaks about the persona singing to a friend of hers and proclaiming to her that she is the reason why her husband isn’t average. An interlude that celebrates female empowerment and the fact that woman can be strong, independent, fierce-minded and free-spirited individuals; Nicolle encourages people, but women in particular, to embrace their individuality and to never give up on their dreams.

The rest of second wife is extremely personal to Nicolle, but also relatable and relevant to each of us. “Prenup” is an admission and a confession that Nicolle and her husband didn’t sign a prenup back in the day, and she felt like she didn’t need to: We were sitting at our farmhouse writing these and joking about what a pain it would be, how much stuff we have now. Now, we have a house in Kansas with a farm and a house in Nashville. We were talking through how funny it is that we never even thought to sign a prenup because we were both so in the hole. When we got married, there was nothing to even sign a prenup over. In fact, all the stuff that we brought into our marriage was actually more of a financial liability because of my college loans, back taxes, and things like that. We were just really kind of high-fiving each other for how far we had come and what we’d built over all these years. But there’s also something so cool about knowing that you built something together, and that song represents that. We started talking about how much it cost for the catering at our wedding and bridesmaid shoot. We remember all of those things just because we didn’t have money. So that song is about how people always say they’re so proud of that first little apartment or house they live in because it was that first thing. And I think ‘prenup.’ captures that era of our life where we never saw what was coming for us in our careers and life ahead, and it was like humble pie. “The Grain”, a personal and inspiring acoustic guitar ballad, speaks about going against the grain in life and doing something that isn’t the norm but is something that you feel in your soul and in your bones that you need to do (and in the case of this song, Nicolle is singing about her marriage to fellow songwriter Rodney Clawson); while “Rooms” speaks about rumours and gossip, as Nicolle shuts downs the haters and proclaims that her relationship with her husband is worth more than any other person’s opinion about it. “Texas Hold ’Em” highlights the notion of holding onto the people who you love, especially if it is a potential partner whom you are interested in romantically; while the piano led ballad “Under The Rainbow” speaks about settling down for a quieter life in the suburbs after seeing the world and travelling- and is a tribute and homage to the Wizard Of Oz track “Over The Rainbow”.

Second Wife shows the side of me that is flawed, self-deprecating, understated, silly, and yet unconventionally traditional. The side of me that fell in love at 21. That’s a side of me that I don’t always show—the married one. If Firstborn was a memoir, Second Wife is more of a fun adventure in real time. The thing about Second Wife is even the title itself is imperfect. That’s probably my favorite thing about being one. The illusions (and delusions) I had as a firstborn were gone once I became one.

she is an ode to my mother-in-law. she’s a ditty about our finances. a celebration of an unorthodox attraction. a recollection of a black-tie affair. a nod to his home state. and she’s foreshadowing where we want this thing to end. she is SECOND WIFE.

Also a masterpiece and a near-flawless release just like the first album; Nicolle Galyon’s second wife isn’t an album for the faint of hearted. There are songs about female empowerment, jealousy, not being affected by rumours, being comfortable in your own skin, and loving the life you’re in right now. These are heavy topics, and you need to be in the right frame of mind to listen to these songs. However, if you give Nicolle’s sophomore EP a chance, then I guarantee that you’ll be blown away, and presented with a listening experience like no other. Nicolle is a creative and skilful storyteller, and her craft is evident all throughout on this sophomore project. There’s nothing much more I need to say about this project- because simply put, I reckon it’s one of the most inspiring, poignant, moving, impactful and honest of the whole year. Well done Nicolle, I can’t wait to hear what’s next for you in the future!

3 songs to listen to: Prenup, The Grain, Under The Rainbow

Score: 5/5

RIYL: Walker Hayes, Natalie Hemby, Lori McKenna, Dan & Shay, Scotty McCreery, Miranda Lambert, Mandy Moore, Nichole Nordeman