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We’re living through a bit of an americana renaissance within the alternative music scene. Popular independent artists lean more on traditional structures and country elements every year (think Slow Pulp’s “Yard”, most of Faye Webster’s and Big Thief’s catalogs). While Ryan Beatty is reaching the trend late, he leans much further into americana stylings on his latest album Sweet Fortune than his contemporaries. Hell, the track “Virtuoso” is a boot-scootin’ jam that could pass for a couple rounds in any line-dancing bar in Texas; “Too Many Ways” lyrically recites American states like a geography test. Both songs are proof of concept that he is, in fact, a native to this sound.
Beatty smartly knows not to rely too heavily on these elements in a way that could come off as gimmicky or tacky- and often returns to the more acoustic and lowkey sound that he established for himself on his last album, 2023’s Calico. In hindsight, Calico feels more like a clue of what was to come for Beatty; a quick excursion into folk to escape his electropop label before diving deeper into the wild, wild west on Sweet Fortune.
Beatty is a songwriter at heart. He won his first Grammy for his work on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter last year. During his stint writing songs for others, he developed some connections that he enlisted the help of on Sweet Fortune. This includes Ethan Gruska, who executive produced this album and has an impressive body of solo-work, and Leon Michels of El Michels Affair. Michels also executive produced Clairo’s 2024 album Charm. Oh yeah, she’s on this album too! She is perhaps the most welcomed addition to the album, providing backing vocals and a writing credit on “Delancey”. This makes a lot of sense considering the track’s meandering structure which is akin to her longer cuts like “Partridge” or “Second Nature”. In an Instagram post discussing her contributions to the album, she said:
Singing with you is an all time honor. I feel like I was meant to duet with you – my Lee Hazelwood.
Beatty is going for something much larger on Sweet Fortune, and that is apparent from the first track “Phantom”. The song’s climactic nature, while stunning, has a tricky role within the record. Being the opener, it establishes a grandiose tone that the rest of the album will have to match. It implies that the conclusion is met in the beginning. After revisiting Sweet Fortune and Calico in its entirety (and by knowing this track was written while touring for Calico), it becomes clear that “Phantom” acts more as a footnote for Calico. It is the final processing of the trauma Beatty discusses on his previous album, paving the way for Beatty to discuss what he’s facing in the present day.
The following track, a major highlight, “White Lightning” delves deeper into Beatty’s current struggles. He discusses issues with addiction, both with substances and with a person.
I know when to start, I don’t know when to quit
You call and I can’t resist
You’re the first of your kind, and the last on my lips
He also nods to feeling uncertain in his desires and struggling with his religious shame. The song made me realize how much I missed the presence of drums on Calico; Beatty has such a knack for filling a pocket with his vocals.
“Virtuoso” is the closest that the americana shtick on Sweet Fortune gets to coming off as gimmicky, but it has enough quirk and quotable lyrics to save the track. It achieves its objective; it meets a stranger in a bar, shares a drink and a dance, seeks further connection, and disappears, leaving the fourth track, and lead single, “Secret Language” in its wake. Beatty pursues a deeper connection with someone, but is struggling to openly discuss his feelings for them beyond physicality.
Did you hear what my words couldn’t tell?
I love you, I say it
in a secret language
The title track is a traditional duet between Beatty and Clairo; their vocals fit together surprisingly well. Clairo, while a talented songwriter and instrumentalist, has never wowed with her vocal range. However, Beatty is a chameleon tonally that is able to lower his register to match her in a way that feels natural and stunning. “Sweet Fortune” keeps with the theme of the previous track, as Beatty struggles to express the love he sheaths away after being mistreated in the past. The chorus has been stuck in my head for days:
Wish on a star, little light in the dark
Let it all reveal what I always feel, sweet fortune
Gonna wish on you tonight
“Too Many Ways” is another highlight, a roadtripping and meandering track about being in love despite outside forces keeping the pair distant from one another. However, the final leg of Sweet Fortune doesn’t leave as much to write home about as the first half of the album. “Delancey” is a pretty, jazzy-piano cut and has one of the more impressive vocal performances on the record. “Annie, Anything”’s refrain of “I’d give anything to get to you” is very somber and kind on the ears, “Dust” whimpers and “Fleur De Lis” triumphs.
The reason I’m not as impressed by the second-half of Sweet Fortune is because there’s a contrast between the amount of thought put into the lyrical content and the instrumentation. While Beatty’s songwriting remains sharp and engaging, the guitar-work on “Dust” or the horns on “Annie, Anything” aren’t unique or memorable in a way that leaves a lasting impression.
This is a result that I honestly wasn’t expecting considering the amount of talent that is put forth on Sweet Fortune between Beatty, Michels, Gruska, Clairo and even Amy Allen (who’s having a hell of year after working on Olivia Rodrigo’s latest. Good for her). While I enjoyed Sweet Fortune thoroughly, will praise it for the intimacy in its songwriting, and leave glad that Beatty is expanding his sound, I still can’t help but miss the Ryan Beatty of old. I miss the electropop on Boy in Jeans and Dreaming of David. I feel like americana is a sound that Beatty is still experimenting with, and I’m excited to hear how he expands on it in the future.
