Iris Marlowe: ‘Where the Devil Bid the Owl Goodbye’ Album Review
On May 26th, Chicago based country/folk singer-songwriter Iris Marlowe released her third album, ‘Where the Devil Bid the Owl Goodbye’. This new full-length offering shows Marlowe’s insistence on expanding her sound beyond the traditional confines folk is known for.
On her 2020 album, ‘Winter Solace’, Marlowe showcased her talents in acoustic storytelling with songs like ‘Blood is Thicker’ and ‘Teenage Wasteland’. The latter of which shares the same thesis statement as her latest album. Through lines such as “teenage wasteland, sneak our love in like contraband, there’s love in misery, you’re caught up in me, there’s hope in misery”.
The title track is where Marlowe begins the album’s captivating cinematic story. This song sets the scene of an ominous, likely perilous journey.
“Wash your hands of the blood you’ve drawn in the dark, no one can see what goes on in your mind,” Marlowe sings with an equal measure of hushed seriousness and world-weariness.
On the single, ‘Shed Your Skin’, Marlowe implements the sounds that made outlaw country a boon for the country genre in the early 1970s. Marlowe sings of rebirth from a painful breakup, likening it to the death of the past self.
Marlowe sings, “Say goodbye to the girl you know, say goodbye to her pretty soul you will die with nothing to show, she had to die to shed your skin”.
‘Hunt You Down’ lifts the album’s mood but only slightly. Though the instrumentation is fast-paced and more rock-influenced, and Marlowe’s singing voice, for the most part, is sneering, the lyrics are just as grave as the previous songs.
“You can run to the valley, you can run to the wind, you can talk to the skies, but you’ll never win. You say goodbye to your loved ones, you say goodbye with your sins, you ended your life when you tried to do me in,” Marlowe sings with confidence hammering home the message. “Got your blood on my mind hunt you down tonight”.
‘Make Up Your Mind’ is a rollicking, almost love song. Its story centers on Marlowe’s protagonist not knowing if the object of her affection has true feelings.
“I love it when you call, when you kiss me goodnight. Where are you going tonight? And when you leave and your guard is up eternally just like everyone. You say that you need me just for my attention, you say you wanna see me, so what’s the problem? Make up your mind,” Marlowe sings desperately, pining.
On the melancholy acoustic, ‘Old Tricks’, Marlowe’s beautiful singing voice is on full display. “Here I am, standing tall, but you love a damsel, someone to fall, and you find in your heart, make me surrender, I always fall for old tricks,” Marlowe sings sweetly, wearily. “I still wish for old times, you’ll say that you want me, say that you love me just to leave me. I was always just a fix”.
Iris Marlowe is soon set to play shows around the Chicago area at the Burlington Bar and Montrose Saloon.
by Tessa Byrns (Music Writer)
Follow Tessa’s Instagram
Follow Iris Marlowe’s Instagram
Listen to Iris Marlowe on Spotify
✿