Steel Magnolia – Bulletproof
They don’t look quite this drunk in motion.
[Video][Website]
[7.29]
Josh Langhoff: I love pretty much every song on the Steel Magnolia album, mostly because the betrothed Meghan and Joshua seem so in love with the voluptuous sound of their voices together — so persistent in their sonic pursuit of pleasure, they’ll remind you why people heard homoerotic undertones in Big & Rich. “Bulletproof” sticks out of their repertoire (give or take “Glass Houses”) because for once, they’re not singing to one another. Meghan’s singing to the guy she’s over-but-not-really, and for some reason Joshua jumps in to help her hold the lightning rod in the thunderstorm and be a freak show hero, until they finally wail together, “This fragile little girl’s got a new suit of armor!” In the convoluted Pulp Fiction narrative of the album, I place this song first chronologically. Joshua’s the over-eager friend/suitor, helping Meghan land the ultimate kissoff using whatever crazy images she can concoct, just so he can get in her pants later. Spoiler alert: IT WORKS.
[8]
Alfred Soto: The gusto of Meghan’s vocal is a wonder; the stink of the Marlboro Reds can melt those electric guitar strings. And yet…and yet…the gusto sounds like the suit of armor she says she wears: not a chink, not a crease.
[7]
Iain Mew: The funny thing about this is that it sounds so convincingly hard-bitten and tough that when it gets to “this fragile little girl’s got a new suit of armor,” I have a lot more trouble believing in the first part than the second. Still, even without the vulnerability that would lend it more of an emotion punch it’s a lot of fun. It balances rock crunch (and that lived in voice) against lighter elements really well. Plus the image of going out, lightning rod in hand, to taunt the sky gets the bloody-minded pride across.
[7]
Edward Okulicz: I didn’t want to like this, but damned if the riff in the verses doesn’t sound like “Passive Aggressive” by Placebo. Yes, Placebo. It’s surely a coincidence, but the idea of these two going through 90s Brit-rock LPs while drinking themselves into courage makes me smile nearly as much as Meghan Linsey’s knock-out voice. “Don’t smother me with sympathy,” she snarls, and it’s hard to believe she wouldn’t have the right line for any other ex she stumbles past.
[9]
Jonathan Bogart: It takes a while to get over the fact that it’s not a LaRoux cover. But it’s nearly as good.
[7]
Katherine St Asaph: The song “Drink Myself Single” should have been; where Sunny couldn’t convince me she’d been to the Harris Teeter wine aisle, let alone the guts of a dive bar, Meghan understands that putting on a brave face requires you to sound brave.
[7]
Brad Shoup: It’s jarring to hear a cigarette brand namechecked, but it’s a good detail, much easier to digest than Joshua Scott Jones’ presence on this track. I understand they sorta come as a pair, but that curious intro riff makes a much better partner for her from-the-heels delivery, to say nothing of the better-off-without-you lyric. Shame about the monotone refrain; the cadence packs an emotional punch without it, but, again, that initial riff (and the echoing verses) throws down the melodic gauntlet.
[6]