Lots of great music came out this past Friday — Childers, McBryde, Joan Osborne, Julian Taylor…and even more that I know I’m missing as some of Americana and country’s best angle for year-end playlists. But the first album I hit play on Friday was Reyna Roberts’ Bad Girl Bible Vol. 1. I profiled Roberts 10,000 years ago (in 2021) in The Boot and I’ve been impatiently waiting for her first album.
Roberts’ parents were military veterans who struggled to make ends meet as she entered elementary school. Even when they were homeless, they paid for a storage unit to house Roberts’ piano so she could keep playing. I can’t forget that story when listening to brash, breezy pop country bangers like “He Gon’ Be a Problem” and “Hell and Back.” Roberts seamlessly swaggers through songs with tough rock edges and playful electronic elements, but the hook is the core of all her songs and her playfulness is borne from an appreciation for good times.
The album has emotional depth, too, with Roberts channeling ’90s R&B as much as the empowering anthems of the Chicks with tales of heartbreak and betrayal. “One Way Street” and “We Said I Do” highlight Roberts’ powerful voice, providing a little bit of grit to an album that gives Roberts the slick production she deserves. But Roberts’ versatility in the album reminds us that this grit is merely the sand that forms the pearl.
This is by no means a pop country blog, so trust me on this one if you’ve been a long-time reader: Roberts delivers stories from the heart that matter — whether they’re venting the pain of a broken part or exploring the many ways one can engage in mischief without adult supervision.