Single Review: ‘American Beautiful’ – The Henningsens
11 years ago Liv Carter 3
Songwriters: Brian Henningsen, Aaron Henningsen, Clara Henningsen, Brett Beavers
I’m just gonna put it out there right now, this song is like peanut butter on your brain: it gets stuck in your head! If you’ve listened to country radio in the last year, you’ve heard The Henningsens even if you don’t know it. They were the brains and pens behind The Band Perry’s hits, ‘All Your Life,’ and ‘You Lie.’
Striking out on their own, ‘American Beautiful’ is their lead-off single. I’m on the fence about the writing in this one. It’s good, though some of the lines are a bit cringe-inducing (‘She holds her pants up with the Bible Belt, she cracks them up like the Liberty Bell.’) While there tend to be clichés that serve to make the song a little easier to relate to, there are also things that you don’t tend to hear a lot of references to in country music (for example, referring to the guy in the second verse as a ‘Sinatra junkie in a pair of jeans’ rather than {insert name of any over-name-checked country legend}) which gives the song a sense of still having its own thing despite the aforementioned clichés.
Where this song really shines is in its melodic content. The song’s melodies are fantastic and so well-sung that this song should be an example to writers, singers, and producers alike as to how to make a great track. The simple clarity and beauty of Clara Henningsen’s voice makes the track sparkle, but when the harmony vocals come in on the choruses, in parts of the verses, and at the end of the bridge, they take an already great thing and make it that much better. The blend and arrangements of the vocals alone are worth the price of admission here.
The instruments themselves are similarly well produced. While the track is driven by electric guitars, they mixed in some acoustic guitars high enough in the mix to give you a taste of both at once, which makes for a cool sound. Everything sounds great and is mixed exactly where you’d think it should be. They even put in a few little nuggets like the Keith Richards-influenced guitar lick around the part in the first verse where they name-check the Stones. It’s not ground-breaking, but it shows a degree of thought and is a cool way to connect the musical dots.
This is a song I hope to hear a lot on the radio. The Henningsens are obviously a talented act, and if the rest of their output is as catchy as ‘American Beautiful,’ I doubt they’ll have much trouble conquering country radio.
Listen: https://soundcloud.com/the-henningsens
Liv Carter
She holds several certificates from Berklee College of Music, and a certificate in Positive Psychology from UC Berkeley.
Her main influences are coffee, cats, and Alexander Hamilton.
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