Courtesy of Adam Dawson and Broken Jukebox Media I had the good fortune to be able to preview this album which is set for an official release on October 10th (radio date October 1st).  The information that came along with the details on Fiction included references back to her prior albums which have received much positive recognition.  As I was unaware of all of that I decided to jump backward first and started with 2017’s A Sense of Place.  That is a solid set of songs that range from the bluegrass sing-along styled “Carry Me Away” to the slightly sassy alt-county feel of “Cincinnati.” Like a Canyon also is listed as an earlier 2017 release that has more good songs on it although I found it lacked a little of the stylistic range that was present on A Sense of Place.  Of course, I also found “Little Birdie” (which is the notable change-of-pace song on Canyon) to be just too darn happy of a song for me so who I am to complain about  stylistic range?  Bee’s 2020 album Waiting was the last one I made it all the way through before writing this post and you can hear the development of her talent and voice on every track.  The songs are stark in composition but the instruments are right on-point, adding harmony and background that let you into every story.  “Back Home Again” and “Dreams I Don’t Remember” are the stand-outs tracks for me on that album. 

After two times listening through Fiction I was struck by the strength of the lyrics which are so poignant and sung with real feeling.  They tell stories with a clarity and simplicity that make the message in each song all the more powerful.   That songwriting ability was present on the other albums I mentioned above but it is really in full force here.  The songs remain generally simple in form with mostly acoustic instruments that are handled masterfully and add to the intimate, in-person feeling of this album.  “Now I Know” and the title track struck me as especially noteworthy.  Fiction is definitely worth waiting for so keep an eye out for this one to drop.  

I am not sure if this is a complete list of musicians on the album but the info available listed (in addition to Bee on guitar, piano and Wurlitzer); Kate Wakefield (cello), John Borchard (pedal steel), Ammed Solomon (drums) and Chris Justice (bass).  

You can keep up-to-date and also purchase her music here:

https://meganbeemusic.com/home

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