The album ‘Bad Luck and Love‘ sees Birmingham Alabama singer-songwriters Sarah Lee Langford and Will Stewart join forces to produce music that is redolent of the whisky-soaked honkytonk and the downtone rough and ready blues bar. It’s a location not so far from Will Stewart’susual locale, but it sees Sarah LeeLangford move further away from her Bluegrass routes. Langford and Stewart are frequent collaborators – and for this new album they were joined by Keelan Parrish (Vulture Whale), Brian Gosdin (Dexateens), and Ford Boswell (Early James). Will Stewart also appeared on Langford’s previous LP ‘Two-Hearted Rounder’ which was released on Cornelius Chapel Records way back in 2019 – before everything changed.). ‘Bad Luck & Love’ brings some of that survival knowledge to bear on the songwriting and music. The knowledge that things can change – and fast – and that some things don’t last or are not to be trusted to do so.
‘Staring at the Sun’ takes a fairly cynical eye to the subject of love with Langford singing “And if I fall in love, remind me I’m crazy / Make me look away from starin’ at the sun / Cause I’m a fool when love lands at my doorstep / Never let me say I found the / one.” That’s one jaded lover. Sarah Lee Langford told Americana UK about the song, saying: “Along with everyone who’s ever been burned, I tell myself I’m not going down that road again. I suppose this song serves as my very own reminder that risk and reward are two sides of the same coin.”
