Margo Priceās voice has always been larger than life. On her 2016 debut, Midwest Farmerās Daughter, she stunned from the first chorus of opening track āHands of Time.ā It sounded effortless ā not just the vocals, but the lyrics laying out her familyās history and struggles. Thatās always been the dual draw of Priceās music: that voice and those lyrics. Both shine through as ever on Priceās third album Thatās How Rumors Get Started, finally released July 10 after being rescheduled due to the coronavirus pandemic. And theyāre the simple reasons why closing track āIād Die for You,ā a stark departure from Priceās past sound on her most adventurous record yet, shouldnāt be so surprising.
Price always stood out from the country crowd. Nashville didnāt want her; she performed there for years before eventually signing to Jack Whiteās Third Man Records and selling her engagement ring to pay for sessions at legendary Sun Studio in Memphis. Her music always opted for more of an Americana flair, rather than leaning into the commercial pop-country trend, meaning she never broke into radio. But it took leaving Whiteās label and teaming up with fellow Nashville outsider Sturgill Simpson for Price to show off her rock bona fides. Rumors spans heavy southern rock on āTwinkle Twinkleā to ā80s-ish New Wave on āHeartless Mind,ā ending with a song more fitting for Woodstock than the Ryman. āIād Die for Youā is the biggest song Price has ever made: rock music with psychedelic and gospel undertones, a hymn more focused on life than whatever comes after.
Itās built on slippery, loud guitars, keeping more rhythm than whatever drums and bass you may be able to hear. Those guitars could swallow up many singers in Nashville, but not Price. She belts solo on this song, after leaning on the Nashville Friends Gospel Choir on a few of Rumorsā other big tracks. āSome say āours,ā some say āmineā / But we all bleed the same blood,ā she sings in one verse. This time, rather than retelling what sheās done, Price interprets what she sees: poverty, gentrification, greed, hate. Sheās disillusioned, but she holds onto love. āI canāt live for them, itās true,ā she confesses. āBut honey, I would die for you.ā Itās not hopeful, and it doesnāt need to be, coming from a woman whoās seen her share of shit. Listeners who know Priceās story will find her a commanding preacher, while those who donāt will quickly become fixated by the force of her voice and clarity of her words.
For over a year now, Price has been hinting at āa psychedelic gospel recordā she recorded with husband Jeremy Ivey, whose writing and guitar also features heavily on nearly every Rumors track. As the albumās closer, itās hard not to hear āIād Die for Youā as a first taste of that, Price getting ready for what could be next. āI think that you have to keep changing and moving in order to grow,ā she told Vulture of Rumors. Price has had music like āIād Die for Youā in her all along. That song only makes you want to hear what else she can do.