Old Dominion Get Weird: ‘Barbara’ Album Review
- While a lot of country acts tend to display traditional portraits of themselves on albums, Old Dominion see record covers mostly as another canvas for their creative whims.
- "The character 'Barbara' that we created, we wanted her to be sophisticated and trashy at the same time," he adds. "She looks like somebody that you would want...
- Before the album is even out, fans have already been turning up at concerts dressed as "Barbara," with curlers in their hair, faux fur jackets, sunglasses, and dangling...
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While a lot of country acts tend to display traditional portraits of themselves on albums, Old Dominion see record covers mostly as another canvas for their creative whims. Barbara‘s fictional cover subject is meant to ”embody the entire body of work that we have created, but also reflect the silly side of who we are as people,” says singer-guitarist Matthew Ramsey.
“The character ‘Barbara’ that we created, we wanted her to be sophisticated and trashy at the same time,” he adds. “She looks like somebody that you would want to hang with and listen to the stories and the life lessons that she has.”
Before the album is even out, fans have already been turning up at concerts dressed as “Barbara,” with curlers in their hair, faux fur jackets, sunglasses, and dangling cigarettes.
“We try to do things a little left to center,” says keyboardist-guitarist Trevor Rosen. “We really love the old school album covers-the Blink-182 and the Cars album covers-and we just try to be a little more artistic with it. Barbara definitely throws back to that spirit and mentality.”
The band were fully involved in the making of the album cover, down to helping cast the actress and being on-site during the photo shoot. The chosen model, named Shalene, had the look down, but didn’t truly share her character’s lifestyle. ”She had to practice holding a cigarette because she’d never held one before,” says Ramsey. “She’s a sweet lady.”
Both Ramsey and Rosen are on Zoom from their homes in Nashville,talking about the new album during a short break from their ongoing How Good Is That world tour. The songwriters note that despite the playful cover image, Old Dominion consider Barbara the band’s most personal album.
