"Love Letter" is the first single by Mary Jane Dunphe and Chris McDonnell's new country-rock project, The County Liners. It's a fucking doozy, too, not least because of Mary Jane's backroads-ready voice, which has, in the past, also proven suited for no-fi pop and straight-up punk.
The lyrics are the body of the titular letter, which is addressed to a way-long-gone lover. "Don't lose interest, I'm not so bad / In fact I like myself at times," Mary Jane sings, her voice low and powerful over a warm, Americana arrangement. It has a heavy-hearted, pre-grunge, late-’80s feel to it — like something by Lucinda Williams, or maybe The Go-Betweens.
The song's melancholic official video, shot in an around Chris and Mary Jane's house in Olympia, Washington, is debuting today on The FADER. It makes Olympia looks like a spot I'd really like to visit, and is a reminder that if you have to get your heart broken it might as well be someplace beautiful.
Mary Jane Dunphe And Chris McDonnell In The County Liners is out November 17 on Wharf Cat.
Thumbnail image by James Nadel