Lee Brice: Hard 2 Love

"Is he a wide-eyed celebrant of everlasting love or a kooky raconteur of life’s little offbeat surprises? A little of both, as it happens, especially when it comes to the subject of crazy, which straddles the two. ... And on Mr. Brice’s new album, 'Hard 2 Love' (Curb), which was released on Tuesday, he slyly updates the theme, weaving it into 'That Way Again,' a heartrending tale of a shattered marriage. 'He used to love her like crazy/You couldn’t pull ’em apart/God, she felt so unbelievable in his arms,' he sings, his voice swelling as he concludes, 'She don’t wanna leave/She just needs him to be that way again.' Mr. Brice sings versions of those phrases three times: first, as the narrator; second, as the wife considers another man; and finally, in the words she unleashes on her husband as he threatens to undo her for good with his disregard. Each time Mr. Brice’s singing gets nervier and more sweaty, hard with bravado but teetering on a thinner and thinner edge. It’s vivid, bloody stuff. 'This is my favorite song on the new album,' Mr. Brice said before playing 'That Way Again' on Monday night at Joe’s Pub, early during a show celebrating the release of the moving and often wise 'Hard 2 Love,' one of the year’s most impressive country albums" (Jon Caramanica, "Wholehearted Songs for Lovelorn Joe Six-Packs," New York Times, 4/24/12).

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