Megan & Liz have had a tough road to success. Of course, there's the general sexism of the country "bro-country" takeover, which makes it hard for women to break into the country music genre. Then there's how they parted ways with their label two years ago. But they aren't letting anything like this deter them. With Deux, they're back, and showcasing their sound with an EP that's a combination of pop beats and country instrumentation and songwriting. Megan & Liz have finally found where they want to be in the country-pop continuum, and it works.
Track by track review:
Album Rating: 9/10
- Drive - Megan & Liz originally posted a demo of this song on their Soundcloud that was slightly more country, but it's been recently taken down to make room for the new version. The new version has the voice echoes frequently found in pop music, and pop background beats. The track is a hybrid of country and pop elements, with the songwriting and some instrumentation being country and the background beats and production elements more pop. It works well, though, and who's to say country and pop can't be blended? They're hardly dishonoring the genre. 9/10
- Big Kids - This track is one of the best tracks on the EP. It's similar thematically to "New At This", but is more universal and an anthem of all sorts of "big kids", regardless of whether or not they're going out drinking. It doesn't portray growing up as scary, but as something you can choose to embrace. 10/10
- White T-Shirt - "White T-Shirt" is one of the two ballads on the EP, and was certainly chosen well. It's one of the few songs on the EP that shows no hint of pop in it, and is certain to appeal to the type of listeners who are country purists. It's peaceful to listen to and has beautiful lyrics, and although the love story told in it isn't exactly real for Megan & Liz, it sounds real anyway. 10/10
- He's Not Him - I may be biased when it comes to this song from hearing the worktape with One Arm Train first, because this song was adorable as a duet. The album version is produced, and has some alternate lyrics because One Arm Train isn't a band anymore, specifically the chorus where the lyrics change from "She's not her/And he's not him" to "This ain't then/And he's not him". The worktape was a lot simpler, but the EP version is the one track on this collection where the country/pop blend doesn't work as well. The beats in the background of the first verse are distracting and just don't seem to blend as well with the country instrumentation as the drums do in the chorus and later in the song. Other than that, however, the song's pretty adorable. 8/10
- That Ghost - The lead single from the EP expertly blends the pop and country elements of the track, similar to "Drive" and "Big Kids". It was nominated for Choice Country Song at the 2015 Teen Choice Awards, and although it didn't win, it deserved it in my opinion. It's appropriately creepy with great lyrics, and the fact that there are two vocalists on the song help with the echoing vocals. 10/10
- Just a Name - Like many of the other tracks on this EP, "Just A Name' shows Megan & Liz's confidence in multiple aspects. The country/pop blend works much better on this track than it does on "He's Not Him", although they are similar thematically. The lyrics are rather simple, but it works well with the theme of the track. 9/10
- Home Is You - The last track is the other ballad that shows no sign of pop on the EP, and is similar thematically to Cam's "Village". It's a gorgeously written sibling love song, and a good choice to close off the EP (especially considering that the EP is titled "Deux".) It's one of the many beautiful ballads Megan & Liz have written, and although there are only two ballads on this EP instead of the five on Simple Life, it's satisfying. 10/10
Album Rating: 9/10
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