A.G. Schiano, who goes by the stage name ‘Clover County’, released her first full-length album, following the success of her 2024 EP Porchlights.
Schiano, who describes her music as bootgazey, blends elements of indie, folk and country music. The result perfectly encapsulates the feeling of stumbling out of a bar at last call, forced to cope with a sober mind.
‘Finer Things’ is an extension of the bootgaze genre, as Schiano compares herself to a pack of dip in the opening song “Anywhere”, likening herself to a habit her lover can’t quit.
The album follows the journey of a woman’s love life as she ignores red flags and sticks out in the opener Anywhere, through the final song Stranger Danger, where Schiano decides to give up on love.
In Virginia Slim, the album’s most heavily promoted song, Schiano crosses the fine line between hopeless romantic and cynicism as she plans to quit the most addictive drug she’s known, love.
“I’m a quick Virginia Slim, you’re rolled all the way from scratch / lately you’ve been too quick and I’m too cheap to buy a pack / I used to be a junky for love, but I’m planin on givin it up / Can’t afford the late nights, can’t afford the goodbyes.”
Nearly midway through, she breaks up the album with a lengthy ballad centered around a picture of Elvis in an old room that time seems to have forgotten. ‘Blue Suede Eyes’ is a break from the album’s central theme of love, with a self-reflective feel.
“The floors are creaky, but strong enough to hold these 1970s trophies of gold / There’s a boy in the picture sitting on the shelf / All these years later, he still looks like himself.”
Schianno sees herself in the deteriorating room, noting that although a mind can be bent, who she is will remain. Despite it being a sad ballad, she finds comfort in knowing some things will never change.
Whiskey Cherry is possibly the epitome of this album and Schiano’s self-described “bootgaze” genre, not only in sound but also in content.
The accompanying track likens her to a more rugged Kacey Musgraves with a similarly smooth voice. The lyrics “Whiskey Cherry Cola is only gonna hold you halfway through the night” seem reminiscent of Musgraves’ line “You’re drinking everything to ease your mind” paired with Zach Bryan later mentioning a specific whiskey in “I Remember Everything”.
Finally running away, an effect of the hurt love has left behind, is prominently featured in the last two songs, “Paradise Rd.”
“I love you better through the phone / I see you when I get too close / I’m hiding in the life I chose / Distance makes the heart grow fonder don’t you know / Don’t worry it’s all on me” and “Stranger Danger.”
“I think I’m gonna leave this town before you ever let me down / I think I like the look of you better in my rearview / … I feel in danger of loving a stranger.”
Although the Bootgaze genre has been attempted in recent years with artists like Angela Autumn putting out similar sounds and Sierra Ferrel, who has a more country feel, Schianno has the opportunity to make her mark and become the face of a new genre if she continues to build upon the momentum from her freshman release.
