Country with Conviction: ‘The Final Part’ is Fiona Lennon’s Fearless New Single
The Final Part is the latest release by Liverpool-based singer-songwriter Fiona Lennon. Going from strength-to-strength in the post-Covid music scene, this is her first foray into the world of Country. You would be forgiven, dear reader, for thinking otherwise as The Final Part hits that Country sweet spot where melody and music combine to tell a story we can all relate to.
The rich tapestry of Country music has seen contributions from artists of all stripes – The Beatles, Lily Allen, even Beyoncé was unable to resist that Western allure. To this day, Country legends such as the pocket-sized troubadour Willy Nelson still manage to bang out a tune-or-two. It is a musical style that has managed to thrive throughout the entire history of the recording industry, despite advances in technology and taste.
And with young up-and-coming artists like Fiona Lennon, it seems like it might just continue.
The Final Part is a whirlwind tale of love and the ultimate betrayal; the process of standing up for yourself and knowing your own worth. It’s a powerful notion and one that manages to flip the entire focus from ‘I don’t deserve this’ to ‘I deserve better’. The idea of destroying what they hold dear – in this case, clothes and boxsets, if we’re to take it literally – so that you can look them in the eyes and say ‘now you know how it feels’. It’s just – *chef’s kiss*.
From a certain point of view, the song is almost re-incarnational with themes of rebirth and renewal; a clean break from the past. References to burning up what’s left, physically, of a relationship has a phoenix-like quality to it – as if from those flames, a new beginning is born. Yet, Fiona approaches the subject much in the same vein as her namesake would – to be far more candid and forthright. There is no appeal to allegory; she lets that raw emotion shine through and take centre-stage. It’s relatable and it works. Leave the spirituality to the other guy.
Quite clearly, a lot of care and attention has gone into making this song. Like vapours from a hot spring, Fiona’s voice rises through a chasm of musical rawness, meeting the atmosphere in an explosion of heat and colour. The sweeping slide guitars are reminiscent of Mojave 3’s debut album. But this is no ‘Love Songs on the Radio’. No, The Final Part takes nothing lying down. The introduction of additional percussion in the choruses helps the song to keep pace whilst Fiona, her vocals conducting every movement of the music, is unyielding in her convictions, stating confidently ‘This will be the final part of you and me’. Throughout the entire song, there is not one moment where anything that could be described as a quiver or any other form of self-doubt passes from Fiona’s lips. Nothing. Nitto. She says what she means, and she means what she says.
The drums, too, have such a defined role in the song. To me, they serve as an immersive and great allegory for the song. Like a heartbeat reaching fever pitch – it’s heavy, it’s driven, it’s primal. Sandwiched nicely in between is a whole world of motifs supplied by smooth backing vocals, gentle tremolo guitar, wonderful upright-sounding piano, whilst the low hum of an organ cascades hauntingly in the distance. Morricone, take note.
Great song writing, great production, and great musicianship: Fiona Lennon’s latest single keeps it simple; keeps it Country. None of the rootin’-tootin’ hee-haw stuff but the real outlaw type of Country – pointed lyrics, energy, teeth. It breaks the mould of the moping, wallowing-in-self-pity trope of Country music that is always sung by a distant Aunt at a family party after one-too-many Courvoisiers. No, The Final Part has real, raw, balls-to-the-wall emotion that’s not afraid to say it like it is! If the Highwaymen were the Highwaywomen, this is the kind of song they’d sing. Move over Willie Nelson there’s a new and (I presume) taller sheriff in town!
The Final Part is available on all major stream platform now.
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Daniel Ryan
