LACI KAYE BOOTH - Cigarettes - Geffen Records

When Laci Kaye Booth released “Damn Good in a Dive Bar” in late 2022, the monumental moment was more than just a song release; it was her bravely stretching out independently to create the music she’s wanted to make while also boldly showcasing the power of overcoming industry setbacks that could’ve derailed her.

She now returns with her brand- new single, “Cigarettes.”

The brash, honesty of the autobiographical song pulls back the curtain of her life to transparently reveal the trials and tribulations she’s dealt with along the way, which have shaped her now perspective to focusing on the lessons learned because of them as she navigates the always changing landscapes of life.

With a soft, airy melody laced by an insatiable drive in the beat, Booth embraces her past as she places her vocal into the emotional tilt of her story which she begins during her rebellious streak and pursuit of a relationship with the “bad boy” that would land her being kicked out by her parents at 17 years old.

However, it’s how she so unassumingly drops the final line of the opening verse, “You played “Jesus Take the Wheel” everyday ‘til I came back,” that Booth expertly puts a spotlight on her incredible songwriting prowess as she offers an organic switch in perspective to that of the struggles her parents dealt with in the aftermath of their incredibly tough decision to make her leave the house. 

Fast-forwarding to her record deal after her turn on American Idol, the second verse speaks directly to the letdown she experienced as she sings of being fed lines of how she’d be the next big thing, only to then watch her dreams go up in the smoke in the end; eventually resulting in her overcoming that crash to reveal with a sly tone to her voice, “And the same champagne they bought me, I popped it when they dropped me.”

But it’s in the chorus where she really ties this all together with encouragement through her healing as she stands toe-to-toe with all that those confusing life moments have taught her:

“I learned sometimes your first don’t last

I learned to scream, I learned to laugh

I learned to live with my regrets

I learned I hate…I hate cigarettes”

Whenever an artist can discover the freedom within their craft to create something that pulls straight from their own life – the good, the bad, the confusing, and the ugly – they instantly offer a piece of themselves to the listening audience and oftentimes can connect their story through similarities.

Though it’s only been two songs now since Booth has stepped into her own independent route, “Cigarettes” places an exclamation point that clearly states I have arrived, while intriguingly keeping us wondering what’s still to come as she continues to open her personal diary through song.

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis) 

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