Willow Avalon Has a Pink Pistol and Knows How to Use It » PopMatters

The title of Willow Avalon’s new album, Pink Pocket Pistol, suggests she wants to have it both ways. She has a soft, feminine side as indicated by the color and small size of her gun. However, the fact that she has a weapon reveals she’s tough and dangerous. The album cover features her pointing a chromium grey revolver at the beholder. The pink is gone, which indicates the significance of her steely power. The outward femininity is just a pretty disguise.

This works as a metaphor for Avalon herself. On the outside, she is dainty in a faux innocent manner. Inside, she is strong and determined, even treacherous if you cross her. While Avalon mostly sings in a high-pitched girly voice, somewhere between a bleat and Betty Boop, make no mistake. She’s a strong woman unwilling to take any man’s shit.

Avalon’s country vibes are rooted in humor, sincerity and a feminist sensibility. Her lyrics are full of puns, double entendres and wordplay. Seemingly silly lyrics such as “You’re so full of shit that your britches don’t fit”, “If his name is Will, then he won’t, if his name is Rich then he’s broke”, are more than clever quips or fillers, but essential to the meanings of her story songs. She may exaggerate, but the album’s contents tell stories of abusive lovers killed without remorse, “Goodbye Earl”-style and other men who do not fare very well.

It’s all in good fun, to a point, but the message is real. The protagonists of her songs want a good man, true love, and a decent life.  This is a difficult task in today’s world, and as Avalon’s retro music vibes suggest, the search for a mate has always been a challenge and a source of comedy. She mines past country traditions, which borrowed from Vaudeville and show tunes and modernizes them. In some ways, it’s not that great a leap from Ethel Merman singing “You Can’t Get a Man With a Gun” in Irving Berlin’s 1946 musical Annie Get Your Gun to Avalon’s warbling tones, despite the two singers’ sonic differences.

While there is always some level of seriousness beneath the humor, some songs are straightforwardly sincere. Avalon’s characters know they are not perfect and not always innocent. She sings of backsliding with ex-lovers or falling for the wrong man. These songs work well in the mix. Her aim is entertainment, not relationship counseling. She knows it is important to make people weep as well as guffaw. One outstanding track features Avalon and Jason Isbell confessing the “Cardinal Sin” of falling in love with someone else while already married. The ache in their voices bleeds through every note.

In the final track, “Georgia Mile”, Avalon tenderly conveys the wonder of finding the right one. She gently sings with a trill in her voice over a strummed guitar. The boisterous lady who began the record with a threat ends it with a sigh. The finale displays the range and depth of Willow Avalon’s talents. From a pistol-packing mama to a quiet, soft-spoken sweetheart, this Southern belle raising hell shows she can do it all.