Nobody’s Girl
Waterline
Lucky Hound Music
Austin is a weird place. Ask anyone from Austin. You see bumper stickers saying Keep Austin Weird all over the place. It’s also the home of the annual South by Southwest music industry convention, the Austin City Limits TV show and a local music scene that has been filling clubs since forever. Nobody’s Girl are three women who have all won the Kerrville Folk Festival’s New Folk award as solo artists. When BettySoo, Grace Pettis and Rebecca Lobe decided to tour together, they put out a video of the trio harmonizing on a Tracy Chapman song in hopes of attracting bookings. The video went “mini-viral” and led to them signing at Lucky Hound Music as a band.
Waterline is Nobody’s Girl coming out party. The six songs showcase the tight harmony of the trio while the singers take turns on lead vocal. Maybe it’s because I live in Florida and the perpetual “cone of uncertainty” during hurricane season, but I can’t help but project Hurricane Harvey onto BettySoo’s contributions, “Riding Out the Storm” and “Waterline” – which specifically brings to mind images of devastated homes and shattered lives.
There are two contenders for break out songs on Waterline. Since radio programmers don’t like the unknown, “Call Me” is a safe bet. Everyone knows the Blondie/ Giorgio Moroder tune from the radio or the movie American Gigolo. Nobody’s Girl do a fairly faithful version and show off their harmonies on the chorus. “What’ll I Do” sounds like a natural fit with pop country and Adult Alternative radio. It’s a classic song about falling for a bad boy (or maybe bad girl). Grace Pettis laments her attraction to this person who is totally irresponsible but hot. Waterline begins with a full band version of “What’ll I Do” and ends with a live version that showcases the trio’s unadorned voices and guitar. If you don’t hear Nobody’s Girl on the radio, then look for them on the club circuit.
