The Singles Jukebox

The pride of Ottawa…

[Video][Website]
[5.75]

Katherine St Asaph: Oh man, would this song go over differently in the States.
[5]

Alex Ostroff: Wait? What? This is Canadian? We have half-decent country music in Canada? (Emphasis on the half.) I’m… pleasantly surprised. This is a little too slick, the dirty farmhand fantasy is a bit try-hard, and the ‘edgy’ personality is more Gretchen Wilson or JaneDear Girls than it is Miranda. Still, it’s tuneful and it has kick, and even the JaneDear Girls are preferable to another ‘Canadian Girls‘.
[6]

Josh Langhoff: An almost-intriguing blend of peasant humiliation and porny fan fiction that begs the question: What kind of sicko farm task requires taking off your shirt and getting down in the dirt?
[5]

Iain Mew: The storytelling doesn’t really hold up to much examination, but the song rushes along with too much energy to let it be a big problem. The crunch of guitar going into the chorus and Isabella’s fearsome approach to making demands are highlights. The only thing that still jars is “sweep me off my boots” which is something that no one else says for a reason.
[6]

Anthony Easton: For the record, when a gentleman takes his shirt off and is working in the dirt, he has no more work to do. I do not expect to be swept off my feet (there is an essay to be written on the cultural differences between wanting to be bent over and wanting to be swept off one’s feet), but I’m not Kira Isabella. It works as a kind of corrective to the arrogance of these new country boys who assume every girl in the world wants to fuck them because of their working tractor and knowledge of local cricks.
[8]

Brad Shoup: So Kira’s an anthropology major back home in Manitoba, living with her parents until the job market strengthens, and she’s taken by this avatar of proud Canadian manual labor. Country’s not her métier — check the word choice in “either arm” and the pop spin she puts on “but I-I-I”. The song’s one big #sorrynotsorry, and that unfortunate solo sounds like it’s being played on pewter strings, but melodically, this thing is impeccably researched.
[7]

Alfred Soto: When she commands him to take off his shirt, she’s not affecting toughness because Miranda Lambert and Gretchen Wilson made it lucrative: she’s thinking of a good time. She loves guitars as much as boys and her shirt — a blessing.
[7]

Jonathan Bogart: Maybe this is a little too #classwarfare of an analysis for a pokey little country-pop song, but all I can think about while listening is that my response would be to a) get paid, b) tell the daddy’s girl with her list of demands and constant reminders of differences in status to go fuck herself, then c) go blow the paycheck on hard liquor and grown-ass women.
[2]