Lisa Michelle Anderson has traveled the world, from all the way across the globe in Australia to our Missouri neighbor of Branson. Throughout her musical career, she has reflected on those homegrown and worldly journeys in an Americana sound. At 18 years old, she began performing in Silver Dollar City and later at a biker bar in San Diego, gaining significant experience in the country and Roots genres. Despite this career in music from a young age, Anderson only first began self-publishing on streaming services in 2020, and this week, she has released her first full-length LP, titled Get To Somewhere.
In this album, Anderson seems to have settled on a small-town setting, though remnants of that world traveler remain. Melodically, the overall sweet and subtle sound focuses on simple-yet-compelling guitars and vocals, and the lyrics follow the folk tradition of telling earnest stories that often evoke a simpler time.
The record opens with the pleasant “Nickel and Dime,” a nostalgic track that recalls an age of old when life’s objective was to get to the roller skating rink. Anderson paints a rustic picture of youth in these lyrics, as she starts off the song with, “Livin’ on the bad side of the tracks, pretty good at singing, not good at math.” Thus, the singer begins this LP in a time that has passed for her. These free-spirited, memory-filled vibes carry on in second track “Polaroid Summer,” which, from its use of guitar sliding, brings in more country genre elements that live at the heart of Anderson’s music.
Joni Mitchell holds a clear influence in this artist’s discography — one could probably discern that fact from listening to any song off of Get To Somewhere. However, Anderson pays direct tribute to the legendary 20th century folk musician in “Goin[1] ’ Where Joni Went.” Lyrically, this track falls into the pattern of sunny-days songs that the rest of the album presents. Differently from a work by Joni Mitchell, “Goin’ Where Joni Went” employs a fun electric guitar solo which demonstrates Anderson’s connection to classic rock.
Titular track “Get To Somewhere” tells the listener that, “She wanted to get herself to somewhere, anywhere,” and includes a more somber-sounding guitar in comparison to the previous, more upbeat tunes. The entire album ends with the song “What Tomorrow Brings,” which beckons the listener to see what tomorrow brings in comparison to a rusted past.
Lisa Michelle Anderson’s Get To Somewhere communicates a message that she as an artist who makes music for the sake of making music. She looks to understand her own past in the melodies and rhymes she finds, and she finds optimism in what the future will hold. | Krista Spies
