RISSI PALMER - RISSI PALMER
“Country Girl” — the song that has famously made Missouri-bred Rissi Palmer the first black woman in two decades to hit the Hot Country Songs chart — is a propulsive, soul-fueled stomp offering a useful lyric lesson about how you don’t have to be “a Georgia peach from Savannah Beach” to identify as country. But her groove doesn’t end there. “Mr. Ooh La La,” with Palmer’s vocals serving as rhythm hooks, could stir up even more dancefloors. Older R&B influences are audible as well — “All This Woman Needs” has a Dionne Warwick prettiness, “I’m Not of This World” is tough blues rock and the melody of “Leavin’ on Your Mind” recalls the Drifters’ “This Magic Moment.” Throughout, Palmer shows off a soul-country smokiness that proves genres aren’t as segregated as they sometimes seem on paper.
