Southern belle, Willow Avalon, is raisin’ serious hell on impressively original debut album
Released at the beginning of 2025 after a year of rapid rise, Willow Avalon’s debut album Southern Belle Raisin’ Hell is an impressively original collection of stories, recounting family tales, broken hearts, failed relationships and humour-filled anecdotes all told with an abundance of self-confidence. The album starts with a Kacey Musgraves/Hailey Whitters style tribute to her southern family and the musical world she exists in – her first word was ‘Elvis’, this girl was born for it. Avalon’s talent is too original to be taught, it’s entirely her. Melodies quite possibly run through her blood, and find their way into her picking, whistling and singing, it’s a kind of natural musical ease that can only come from being raised on the good stuff, the good sounds.
The tie that binds all fourteen tracks together is that hometown pride, ‘you can take the girl out of the country, but it never really leaves’. There are countless classic country tropes across Southern Belle, but it’s Avalon’s willingness to twist them into personal experience that sets her apart, the oldest trope in the country book might be a trivial escape for listeners, but it’s reality for a girl from the south. There’s no cliché in it though, her song-writing contains too many clever details for that.
With so many of the tracks having been released throughout 2024 and finding success on social media, the album does have an inevitable kind of dip, not in quality just in familiarity when the “big-hits” are over. However, Avalon’s sound is so cohesive that the new tracks fit in pretty seamlessly; ending the album with three previously unreleased songs is a brave choice coming with a risk of losing listeners’ attention, but penultimate track Damned pulls us back in with a reminder of Avalon’s surprising vocal range, a slightly unpredictable rhythm on the chorus, and wailing steel. Closing the album with Good Morning, Goodbye is initially a little underwhelming but narratively, it does work.
Credit to small-teams of creatives, written and produced by Avalon, Tofer Brown and JR Atkin, there’s a successful distinction in Southern Belle’s blending of genres to create one singular vision. It’s on brand. Avalon’s sound is primarily Appalachian bluegrass fused with moments of southern rock, it’s original and it works convincingly well. There’s a risk in making a debut with a relatively experimental sound, but there’s no doubt in my mind that she wouldn’t have it any other way, Avalon is unapologetically herself, and that’s what shines through most prominently.
In more ways than one, tracks on Southern Belle couldn’t be more opposed to what mainstream country radio are asking for. It won’t be getting much radio play, in all honesty her writing is perhaps a little too clever, her sound a little too obscure on first listen – so much of her success so far has come from social media popularity, so as she embarks on her headline tour this year, it’ll be interesting to see just how much her audience grows beyond the clutches of the internet.
The instrumentation across the album is of a consistently high quality, rising and falling riffs and guitar bends on Gettin’ Rich, Goin’ Broke, those little details like switched-up drum fills in a pre-chorus demonstrating that just as much attention was paid to production and mixing as lyrics. Her bluegrass and traditional country roots are celebrated through the fiddle or steel moments on almost every track, but there’s no fear of moving into a heavier rock vibe when the narrative fits.
It’s not just the originality of Avalon’s voice that makes her special, it’s how she uses it. A handful of artists have phrasing-styles that are as unique as their voice, Willie Nelson being one of those, Avalon’s on her way to join that club, adding a little yodel into words to turn ‘pregnant’ into a three-syllable world or throwing her voice up in a rhythm as purposefully steady as a metronome. ‘Nothing sweeter than a southern peach’ she sings with a slight vibrato on Hey There, Dolly, there’s nothing sweeter than Avalon’s voice, pairing it with some pretty scathing and sarcastic writing is a juxtaposition that could not be more Southern Belle Raisin’ Hell if it tried.
Perhaps the best from the collection kicks off the album, the dizzyingly stomping Something We Regret is soaked in steel and as sultry as a night at a smoky honkytonk. ‘I love you like sugar, you love me like sex, put us both together we’ll do something we regret’, she warns, but with a line like ‘sugar or whiskey, the devils taking bets’, we’re all getting pulled back in.
The album’s only feature comes from fellow rising-star Maggie Antone on written Yodelayheewho, those two southern accents complementing each other flawlessly, it surely has to happen again. These girls are two of the brightest rhinestoned cowgirls in the alt-country world right now, delivering snarky comments with signature sweet smiles.
A bit of a fuzz tone and off-beat rhythm on Homewrecker is the first lean into the southern rock influences that are evident across the album. Self-confessions decorated with Avalon’s warble warn the listener against ‘taking a man at his word’. The real step into the southern rock world comes with title track Southern Belle Raisin’ Hell, acting as somewhat of an invitation into Avalon’s background and the ‘long line of family crazy’ that leaves her unapologetically kicking expectations up in the air.
Sonically gentler tracks like Tequila and Whiskey are where Avalon’s unique voice shines the brightest, holding notes with a phenomenal amount of control. Baby Blue instantly conjuring up that classic country image, a tale of small-town heartbreak that captures some of the album’s most honest moments of self-reflection: ‘I wish I wasn’t broken I wish I wasn’t cold, I wish this heart of mine could end with your heart of gold’.
This is a hell of a debut. It’s a slam your boot down in the Opry circle with a glass full of whiskey in your hand debut. It’s a no regrets when you’ve got the talent to turn an experience into a genius hook debut. It’s a love letter to traditional country told through steel and fiddle debut. It’s a rejection of mainstream trends and country radio debut. It’s damn fine, and it’s a debut that leaves you keen to find out if a sophomore album could top it.
Finding contemporary comparisons isn’t all that easy - in terms of confidence, Avalon seems to be channelling none other than Kitty Wells and Dolly Parton. This girl is a much-needed honkytonk angel: self-confessed, self-confident and self-assured. Kitty would be spinning Southern Belle Raisin’ Hell for sure. Willow Avalon, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn and Kitty Wells passing a bottle of Jack on a front porch – now that would result in a good song.
