The Grammy nominated singer-songwriter Gretchen Peters releases her ninth album which she calls calls her “most close-to-the-bone work, written at a time when I felt absolutely fearless about telling the truth.”

Well if this is the product of honesty then I’m all for complete openness. On the subject of which, here’s mine. I hate country music and a slide guitar sets my teeth on edge. So for me to say that I really like this album is somewhat of a surprise, even for me!

It probably helps that the opening and title track for Hello Cruel World begins with a sliding cello intro rather than guitar and reminds me of Damien Rice’s O. What I do admire about country music is the story-telling ability and Hello Cruel World is very evocative writing from Peters.

On the title track and Radio 2 playlist single, Peters sings:

I’m a ticking clock, a losing bet
a girl without a safety net
I’m a cause for some concern
You don’t live this long without regrets
Telephone calls you don’t wanna get
Stones you’d rather leave unturned
but ooooooh – the grain of sand becomes the pearl
yeah ooooooh – hello cruel world

Explaining Hello Cruel World’s genesis, Peters says, “In 2010 the universe threw its best and its worst at me. Some of it was personal, some global. All of it seemed to demand that I redefine my ideas of permanence and re-evaluate what I believe in, to literally rethink what is real.” First the Gulf of Mexico oil spill put an eco-disaster at the doorsteps of the cottage in the Florida panhandle where Peters writes much of her music. Then a friend of 30 years committed suicide in his Colorado home, followed quickly by the worst flood in the history of her adopted home town of Nashville. Add to that a ray of light in Peters’ marriage to her longtime piano accompanist and partner Barry Walsh, which affirmed their musical and personal commitment of more than 20 years.

If the above sounds like the basis for a good country song then you can understand why there are many good ones on this album.

Another stand out track on the album is The Matador. Here Peters uses the story of a Matador’s lover or perhaps “groupie” to discuss the demands of the art on the performer and its effect on the audience.

I love the ambiguity of the contest on the lady as she writes:

I threw a rose to the matador, not sure who I was cheering for
My aim was true, my heart was full, I loved the fighter and the bull
I loved like only a woman can, a very complicated man
I bound his wounds, I heard his cries, I gave him truth, I told him lies

Peters says creating Hello Cruel World “was like coming home after a long trip, unlocking the front door and putting my baggage down. Telling these stories was part of the process of stripping myself bare of all the lies, halftruths, false selves and misguided intentions we take on in the course of living. “After the trials of the past year I felt raw, open. I wanted to write songs that hurt. I wanted to write songs that were brutally honest. I knew it would be a dark album, and I knew it might be off-putting for some. But I felt I had survived the battering of both the natural world and my own interior one for a reason.”

You can count me in the dark corner, I much prefer the honesty of writing from the heart.

Peters has not only written for herself but also written for Neil Diamond and the recently departed Etta James as well as co-writing songs with Bryan Adams. She certainly knows how to encapsulate so much in a few verses and really cuts to the quick of the emotions involved.

On Natural Disaster she draws together the physical events brought upon us with the more “natural” situations we place ourselves in with relationships,

Here it’s summed up so well:

they say it was a miracle no one died
just two people hurt and some wounded pride
love takes everything in its path
and leaves you breathless in the aftermath
And there’s a hole where your heart once stood
you know it won’t kill you but you wish it would
cause you don’t want to face the morning after
your natural disaster

The musicianship on the album is superb, subtle yet perfectly placed. A lesson in how to ensure a song talks through the music. Peters voice reminds me of Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac. Sultry, worldly wise and singing from the heart. An album of singer songwriter pleasure with many gems.

You can see more lyrics from Hello Cruel World and hear four songs including the title track and The Matador on Peter’s website.