NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WMOT) -- Just in time for Veterans Day, Nashville songwriter Becky Warren has released War Surplus, an album about the post-war experience.
Writing even one song about veterans and their sacrifices without lapsing into sentimentality is hard, making a whole concept album on the subject a high risk endeavor. But War Surplus tells its visceral and enthralling story with well-chosen words and bristling Americana rock and roll.
The leadoff track is “Call Me Sometime,” which Becky Warren took to first place finishes in the prestigious songwriting contests at Merlefest and Kerrville. It introduces the story of June and Scott and their two points of view on life after Iraq and the struggle with PTSD. The reality of the condition hits home in songs such as “Grenade.”
Warren writes from personal experience, having married and divorced an Iraq veteran. Those trials interrupted a music career that was blossoming in Boston with the band The Great Unknowns. Now she’s Nashville based, and this debut solo project is garnering airplay and praise.
Even if Lucinda Williams or Mary Gauthier tackled this same, complex subject matter, it’s hard to imagine a more impressive result.