Album Review: Karli June, Where You Come From

There’s something undeniably agreeable about Karli June’s debut EP, which delivers six highly polished, richly produced, bright-as-sunshine country-pop tracks mostly propelled by stories that might be filed under “aw shucks.” 

The exception is “Makes You Pretty” which, though as sonically gleaming as everything else here, questions self-appraisal that focuses on style over substance. But that’s just so much theme. The balance of Where You Come From explores small-town considerations and experiences and, in the case of “Church To Pray” one’s ability to connect with their higher power from anywhere.

As June notes, "You need a car if you wanna drive/ You need a plane if you wanna fly/ With most things you do in life, there's just one way/ but if you close your eyes anytime, anyplace / you don't need a church to pray." Which is true, although it does leave one to wonder what sort of things one might be praying for in “a bar downtown on a Saturday night.” 

It’s worth noting that the Listowel, Ontario native’s debut commanded some heavy hitters, such as producer Karen Kosowski (Mickey Guyton, Brett Kissel, Madeline Merlo, The Washboard Union) and Nashville-based songwriters Deric Ruttan and Tori Tullier, so the stakes for failure were low from the outset. Still, June holds own with a clear, strong voice that future recordings absolutely must deploy on a wrenching, booze-soaked ballad. Something to look forward to.

Where You Come From was released February 18, 2022 via The Orchard.
Listen to it here.