Mickey Guyton: ‘Remember Her Name’ – Album Review

Mickey Guyton’s new album Remember Her Name is out now, September 24th on all streaming platforms. Read our full review and listen to the new music below.

For years, Mickey Guyton has been deservedly buzzed about within the country music industry. With a powerful gift and an even more powerful message, the golden voiced songstress has repeatedly been named “one to watch” and a “rising star.” However, over the last year, Guyton’s star has continued to ascend to a much deserved level, with a historic Grammy nomination and a performance and co-hosting gig at this year’s ACM Awards.

Today, September 24, the singer-songwriter released her full-length debut album, Remember Her Name, a sixteen song collection that serves to make listeners do just that. Guyton had a hand in writing fifteen of the album’s tracks, and each tells a different side of her story. “It’s crazy that the album is a story essentially,” says Guyton in a statement. “I was just writing and writing. I didn’t even know what the album meant or what it was going to be when I was writing these songs, I just started writing songs about my feelings.”

For the Capitol Nashville recording artist, Remember Her Name shows Guyton embracing everything she is, as opposed to everything Nashville thinks she should be. This theme weaves its way throughout the LP, shining through on songs like the peppy up-tempo “Different,” “Love My Hair,” and “Words.” On “Different,” she proclaims that it’s her differences that make her unique, “I love my skin // I love my hair // and if it bothers you // I really don’t care,” she assures us. “I’m just me // take it or leave // I’m just trying to be who I was born to be.” Meanwhile, on the vulnerable “Words,” she shows her softer side. “What can I say // I’m only human // Sticks and stones will never break my bones // But words still hurt me.” 

It’s not all heavy themes on Remember Her Name with Guyton showing her country side on the likes of “All American,” her sexy side on “Dancing In the Living Room,” and her flirty side on “Rosé.” “All American” is the most typical “country” song on the album, celebrating the Texas native’s upbringing in “one big small town.” Meanwhile, “Rosé” is an ode to everyone’s favorite cheap wine. She’s not here to sing about whiskey or tequila, but on the fun track, she’s looking for something “pretty in pink,” reminding the listeners that “Everything is gonna look brighter // When you see it through rose colored glasses.”

One thing Mickey Guyton has never shied away from is tackling the tough subjects, whether that’s on social media or in song. This is most evident on songs such as “Black Like Me,” “Remember Her Name,” and “What Are You Gonna Tell Her?” Each tackles various subjects including social injustice and the adversity she’s faced as a black woman.

“I want people to feel loved and accepted and seen when they listen,” she reveals of her main goal for the album. “I know what it’s like to feel unseen and I want people that feel that way to hear this and say, ‘Man, that’s me.'”

For Mickey Guyton, Remember Her Name was a project a decade in the making, and it was certainly worth the wait.  The LP is the triumphant celebration of a woman who knows exactly who she is, and is proud to show it.

Remember Her Name Official Track List:

1. Remember Her Name (Mickey Guyton, Parker Welling, Blake Hubbard, Jarrod Ingram) 
2. All American (Mickey Guyton, Victoria Banks, Emma-Lee, Karen Kosowski) 
3. Different (Mickey Guyton, Emma-Lee, Karen Kosowski) 
4. Love My Hair (Mickey Guyton, Anna Krantz) 
5. Lay It On Me (Mickey Guyton, Jaden Michaels, Gavin Slate) 
6. Higher (Mickey Guyton, Nathan Chapman, Fraser Churchill, Preston Glass, Narada Walden) 
7. Dancing In The Living Room (Mickey Guyton, Karen Kosowski, Victoria Banks, Emma-Lee)
8. Do You Really Wanna Know (Mickey Guyton, Melissa Fuller, Andy Skib) 
9. Black Like Me (Mickey Guyton, Emma Davidson-Dillon, Fraser Churchill, Nathan Chapman) 
10. Words (Mickey Guyton, Abbey Cone, David Kalmusky)
11. What Are You Gonna Tell Her? (Mickey Guyton, Karen Kosowski, Victoria Banks, Emma-Lee)
12. Smoke (Mickey Guyton, Nathan Chapman, Balewa Muhammad) Produced by Karen Kosowski
13. Rosé (Mickey Guyton, Karen Kosowski, Victoria Banks) 
14. Indigo (Mickey Guyton, Jimmy Robbins, Laura Veltz, Mozella) 
15. If I Were A Boy (Toby Gad, Brittany Jean Carlson)
16. Better Than You Left Me (Fly Higher Version) (Mickey Guyton, Nathan Chapman, Jennifer Hanson, Jenn Schott)

Our Picks:

1. “Remember Her Name”
2. “All American”
3. “Rosé”
4. “Different”