Pamela Hopkins – Straight Shooter (2022)
Pamela Hopkins is drawing on her personal experiences as a club performer for her single ‘Straight Shooter’. Packed with little anecdotes, the single taps into how she effectively handles the men who approach her at the club. While delving into this, the single offers a double play on the title as she offers straight answers and only drinks straight shots.
Co-Written with Sarah Morey and Erin McCaffrey, the single is a fun country-rock track that continues Hopkins’ tradition of blending traditional tones with contemporary sensibilities. A powerhouse performer and multi-instrumentalist, she has topped the iTunes charts and her music videos have been honoured at film festivals around the world. Since starting her musical career, she has also won a Josie Music Award and been nominated three times at the 2022 Arkansas Country Music Awards.
‘Straight Shooter’ has a smooth opening that slowly creeps into your muscles and gets you swaying to the rhythm. The beats start to rise into a toe-tapping flow, while the guitars bring a touch of country to the track. This is woven into a slight rock vibe that is rather addictive as it transports you into a club or live music bar. As the single progresses, the instrumentation wraps around you like warm air, with new twangs making their way through the higher levels. The guitars start to come into their own later in the track as they fly against the beats. It is a rather addictive melody that slides into your brain without you really realising what has happened.
While the melody is making its way into your senses, Hopkins’ vocals bring the story of the track to life. Her performance has a slightly husky vibe that is whiskey warm as she paints the scene with descriptive lyrics. The huskiness of her performance takes a country-rock turn for the chorus as she rebuffs the people who approach her at the club. While the lyrics bring the dual messaging of the single to life wonderfully, they have been carefully crafted to be taken either way. As you listen, you are drawn into the rather fun story of the track, that gets you quite hooked to the sound. By the end of the track, you are going to be singing along to the chorus because it is really too catchy for you to ignore.
Through the whiskey warm tones of ‘Straight Shooter’, Pamela Hopkins draws you into a rather fun take of rebuffs, shots and toe-tapping music. The melody has a building, infectious energy that slowly makes its way into your senses to get you hooked to the sound by the time the guitars really fly. Hopkins’ vocals are warm with a slight huskiness to them that takes the country-rock vibes to new heights while making you smile as she tells her tale.
Find out more about Pamela Hopkins on her website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
