Big Love In a Small Town

iTunes Review

Sarah Johns joins the growing pack of new women country artists with her 2007 debut Big Love In A Small Town, an album brimming with take-no-guff attitude (along with some softer moments). In certain ways, this record invites comparisons with Loretta Lynn’s proto-feminist anthems of the late ‘60s. “If You Could Hold Your Woman” (addressed to a boozing ex-boyfriend) and “The One In The Middle” (referring to a well-known obscene gesture) are put-downs aimed at misbehaving males, served up with twang-heavy guitars and countrified rhythms. Tracks like the pain-wracked “That’s Just Me Getting Over You” define Johns as an independent female surviving heartache and forging ahead. Big Love In A Small Town takes care to flesh out Sarah’s portrait with less confrontational songs, celebrating successful relationships in the title track and capturing the thrill of a crush in “He Hates Me.” She gets into a honky-tonk mode in “A Lot To Let Go Of” and strikes a spiritual note in “Muddy Water.” If this engaging first effort owes a debt to Gretchen Wilson and Miranda Lambert’s recent releases, there’s still enough individuality here to make Johns an artist to watch.