Modern day country music has been reshaped from its original version. The older sounds and twang that went with the music may have been good at the time, but isn’t as popular in today’s age. Ella Langley has encompassed a lot of the different eras, sounds and history of country music throughout her career. However, she placed a strong emphasis on the traditional sounds. “Dandelion” is 56 minutes of traditional country music, with subtle changes to keep the modern crowd engaged.
No matter if you are into old country music or recent modern hits, everyone loves “Choosin’ Texas”. It has been No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for seven non-consecutive weeks, making history as the longest No.1 hit for a female country artist on the Hot 100. “Be Her” has also made No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, a record of the first female artist having two songs in the top 10 (and top 5) at the same time. In total, Langley has 15 songs ranked on the Hot 100 right now, and the “Dandelion” album is No. 1 on the Billboard 200. All of these achievements led Langley to be the sixth female at No. 1 on the Top 100 Artists.
All the songs in the album are worth listening to, especially when you listen in the album’s order. Every album is supposed to make the songs flow. However, given that most of the songs are slower tempo and use mostly the same instruments, there’s a natural flowing effect to it. This puts emphasis on the nature theme- just like how everything in nature is connected, all the songs in the album are too.
There are a lot of references to nature throughout the album. The cover has a woodsy, wilderness vibe, showing the kind of natural scene where dandelions are. In a way, it shows a dandelion’s point-of-view since Langley is positioned in tall grass near the trunk of a tree, where dandelions typically grow.
The “Butterfly Season” collaboration with Miranda Lambert was the only duet in the album, the rest of the songs being singles. Lambert’s softer, higher pitch voice flowed well with Langley’s harsher, lower pitched voice. The “Butterfly Season” title rightfully leads people to believe there are a lot of nature references in the song, such as blue skies, lavender fields, springtime, cocoons, roses and other flowers.
The “Froggy Went A Courtin'” intro and outro is truly unique. The intro is mostly repeating “Froggy Went A Courtin’,” although the intro’s depth goes way beyond the lyrics. Before Langley starts singing, there is a small acoustic guitar intro, but it doesn’t sound how the everyday acoustic guitar sounds. At first, it sounds like an untuned and broken guitar, but it helps establish the tone of the piece and nicely leads into the first song “Dandelion,” which starts with frogs croaking.
Both the last lyrics of her intro and the beginning of her outro start with “Baby o’ mine.” The lyrics in the outro indicate closure by Langley repeating “Apples on the table, peaches on the shelf” and occasionally “If you want any more, you can sing it for yourself,” signifying she is done singing and that it is the end of the album.
In both parts, the instruments and the melody are like an old western movie, emphasizing a style that, while seemingly out-of-date, gives the song an at-home, welcoming feeling. The album as a whole feels like a traditional country album. Although it holds traditional values and sounds, Langley’s “Dandelion” album has a certain touch that appeals to the modern crowd and solidifying her role as one of the current most popular country music artists.
