Lori McKenna: Unglamorous

Interview, Sept, 2007 by Stephen Mooallem

LORI McKENNA Unglamorous (Warner Bros.)

Having released four little-heard independent albums, 38-year-old housewife Lori McKenna was signed to a major label after Faith Hill recorded a trio of McKenna originals for her 2005 album Fireflies and invited the singer songwriter to perform with her on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Unglamorous, which was co-produced by Hill's husband, Tim McGraw, is McKenna's big-league debut--and befitting the woman herself, it is a stripped-down, self-effacing affair. Her concerns, though, have little to do with crying children, soap operas, or SUVs. McKenna is a big-canvas gal whose songs err on the side of the American gothic, tackling subjects like intimacy ("Your Next Lover"), death ("Leaving This Life"), and fidelity ("Witness to Your Life") with a folksy fortitude.