DALLAS REMINGTON - Life In Podunk - Road Warrior Records

Where breakout sensation “Steal Your Dad” injected an ultra-memorable lyric into her attractive catalog, Dallas Remington has focused these past two years on testing different feels within her rock blended country sound, tilting a moodier drive on “Guilty,” paying touching tribute to her hometown’s perseverance with “Gone With The Wind,” and now on her newest release, “Life In Podunk.”

“This is one of my favorite songs that I’ve written. It’s one of those songs that makes me “feel like a songwriter”. I love how we captured the life so many people I know have lived. Growing up, we all struggled to decide whether to stay home and build a life or leave to find a different life,” exclaimed Dallas Remington.

With a storytelling aspect that leans on the foundations of the genre, the song written by Dallas Remington, Cyndi Limbaugh Torres, Nancy Deckant and Scott Barrier surrounds the grit fueled raspiness that’s naturally built into the drawl of her voice with certain degrees of melodic swampiness to skillfully test sonic boundaries while keeping signature flavors intact.

Telling a third-person story of two high schoolers (Kenzie and Tyler) going a little too far one night, Dallas checkmarks how the direction of their lives are forever changed; him going from being the star quarterback to skipping practices for ultra-sounds, to their shotgun wedding to make things right and putting down single-wide roots with a family, a couple of dogs, and healthy marriage.

Though providing the definition of “Life In Podunk,” the chorus encouragingly tugs heartstring chords by taking this one specific story and twisting so that it relatably hits home for anyone in “Anywhere USA” who’s life went a different direction than expected.

“Some dreams get broke, some dreams get changed
Either way it goes a dream just the same
You go with what you got, Ya work with what you have
Sometimes you gotta make good outta the bad
Cause you can’t un-grow them seeds you been sewin’
That’s how Life in Podunk goes yeah”

From a cleverly drawn looking back perspective, the second half of the song first sees both characters feeling blissfully blessed by the life they have instead of what they thought they wanted, one that they wouldn’t change for anything that’s all about bath times, bedtimes, date nights on the couch, and baby #2 on the way, before then fast-forwarding the generational line that begins the segue to their next phase of life…grandparents!

Where most songs of a similar lyric content tend to focus more on the perspective of wishing life gone differently, almost carrying a regretful tone, what Remington has done so eloquently with this song is crafted it in such a way so that the underlying message can stand in the spotlight and resonate heart to heart; play the hand your dealt and let life unfold by His plan for you because that’s the secret to pure happiness.

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis/Artwork design: Dallas Remington/ Artwork photo Credit: Sonya Jean)