The album opens with "Last Resorts," a song that I love right from its first lines: "I'm out of touch with reality TV/I don't know much about celebrities." Actually even before she finished that first line, when I heard it as "I'm out of touch with reality," I was right there with her. But I can relate to the line even more when she finishes it. Can you believe that so-called "reality TV" is still going strong? I watched the very first episode of Survivor, and that was more than enough for me. At the time, I thought the fad would exhaust itself within four years. Boy, was I wrong. Anyway, there is a delightful playfulness to this song, but she also has something to say here. "It's time for last resorts, baby/It's time for last resorts now." It does seem that way, doesn't it? Everything else has failed. Check out these lines: "High rise hotels and hot pink flamingos/Entertainment desperadoes/Sunshine State taken over by condos/Golf courses and Mar-a-lagos/I need a still, dark and quiet place." And soon she sings, "What we've lost can't be replaced/Can what remains be saved?" I believe it can, but I'm not sure it will be. What will be the last resorts? Whatever they are, I agree it is time for them. Scott Babcock is on percussion on this track.
"I Will Love My Life" also grabs me from its opening lines: "I tried to follow all the rules/Afraid that God is cruel/Years and years of books and school/I still feel like a fool." I think many folks can relate to those lines. These lines also stand out for me: "Oh, I know that nothing lasts/But I keep getting attached/And the changes come so fast/Fade into the past." Those are excellent lyrics, and there is a beauty to her delivery. This is, after all, a rather positive song, as you might guess from its title. "I will love my life/As it passes by." Ah, but it passes so quickly. Death is always lurking in the shadows, and not a one of us will avoid it for too long. So we should all love our lives. This is one of my personal favorites on this album. It is followed by "What If Even If I Will," which has a gorgeous, almost haunting folk sound, as if coming from some deep past that we could all tap into if we tried. "What if I’m at my worst?/Even if you’re at your worst/I will be with you/I will be with you." We each need someone who will be with us at our worst moments. This is an unexpectedly powerful track, a folk song that feels part of that great tradition. "What if we lose it all?/Even if we lose it all/I will be with you." These days it is very easy to imagine losing it all, and several people I know did lose everything in the recent fires here in Los Angeles. This track is another of the disc's highlights.
When I first glanced at the track list, the title "Comment Section Is Closed" tickled me, and I thought it might be a funny song. And, yes, while there is a sort of dark humor to it, this song certainly has something to say. "She said, 'When you gonna finally have kids?'/Maybe never for all I know/Fertility issues, miscarriages/Not that it’s any of your business/Excuse me, don’t you know?/The comment section is closed on my body/If you didn’t, now you know/The comment section is closed on my body." I think many people didn't know. Perhaps because of the internet, people feel comfortable, even compelled, to voice their opinions on everything, including the way people (well, women, let's face it) appear. It would be great to get back to people minding their own damn business, getting on with their own lives. "Bodies grow, shrink, get sick, heal and age/Why must you remark on every format change?"
These lines from "Buttercream Roses" are heartbreaking, largely because they ring so true: "But even by five years old/I wanna keep my expression under control/I don’t want to show how I feel/How much anything matters to me/Please don’t tease/I’ve already learned to keep myself a secret." How horrible that children learn to keep their selves concealed. Life is so short, and to go through it feeling cut off from one's feelings, or feeling it's better to not express them, is awful. And Donna Lynn Caskey has part of this song take place during a birthday party, creating a dynamic juxtaposition between the exterior action and the interior turmoil. "As Is" also addresses people's attempts to change to blend in. Check out these lines: "You go to great lengths to try to stay safe/Without feeling safe/I love you, my friend/I love you as is." A striking section of this song is when she sings a sort of list of advice that most people have received. Hearing it all together, the real and detrimental impact becomes clear. "Be seen and not heard, play cool, play small/Don't ask and don't tell, be no trouble at all/To get along, go along, doing good deeds/Quiet, agreeable, don't have needs." Again, life is so short. Be the person you are. After all, no one out there has any clue what it's all about anyway. This song offers a friendly hand to those who need it, to counteract that sort of harmful advice. "You're allowed to be here/To leave yourself be/Allowed to relax/To sigh in relief." The first time I listened to this album, this song nearly had me in tears.
"Win The Day" provides the album with its title: "Win the day/Find a way to win the day/It may be a tiny victory no one else can see." I wonder if tiny victories are the only victories we'll see from now on. But they add up, don't they? "Grief won't defeat me/Despair won't defeat me/I can feel what I feel/It doesn't define me," she sings here. Sometimes we need to remind ourselves of such things. Actually, probably often we do. This is a beautiful and needed song. Then there is something playful and sweet about "Do Something Small." It is also surprisingly catchy. I suppose many of us feel a need to do something big with our lives. I'm not sure it comes from other people. It feels to me that the person we are most worried about disappointing is our self. But this song is about reducing that drive, that ambition to a more personal level. "No big ambition/No great vocation/I'm not on a mission/Oh, oh, oh, oh, I will heed the call/Oh, oh, oh, to do something small." Perhaps that is what it takes. Here she also sings, "Give me back my joy," a line that stands out to me. It's one that many people want to scream at the powers that be, as well as at life itself. These lines also stand out: "Then go to sleep in peace/Like one who just confessed." Like I said, this album contains some incredible lyrics.
"Heal The Rot" has a much more somber tone, and is a song about racism and hatred, something this country is still failing to face. "Pull the monuments out like rotten teeth/The roots go deep, deep, deep/No more denying this deadly disease/Long overdue for treatment/Got to do what it takes to heal." There is an interesting change in the middle of this song, where she sings about one specific person, someone who was a good child, but as an adult is arrested for a hate crime. And we wonder just what happened to the person. As it's been said, children are not inherently racist. They learn it. These days they don't have to look far to learn it. Forest Miller plays fiddle on this track, delivering some really strong work. "Heal The Rot" is followed by "Song Of Creation," and in this one too she sings of a healing: "We can heal the old wounds/Become more and more attuned/Make life sustainable/Peace is attainable." This track features another beautiful vocal performance. "In that state of grace/Where we all feel safe." These days, so many people lack that feeling of safety. Fred Rose adds some wonderful work on flute on this track. The album concludes with "Rebirth Day," which also features a gorgeous vocal performance. This one is all about the voice, the lyrics delivered a cappella. "Sometimes I've got to step out of the way/But I don't take it personally/This doesn't belong to me/Life flowing through me and to me/I receive it graciously." And we are again reminded of the album's title by these lines: "Every victim's craving victory/I claim victory for me/And now I'm walking tall/I claim victory for us all."
CD Track List
- Last Resorts
- I Will Love My Life
- What If Even If I Will
- Comment Section Is Closed
- Buttercream Roses
- As Is
- Win The Day
- Do Something Small
- Heal The Rot
- Song Of Creation
- Rebirth Day
Tiny Victories was released on May 16, 2025.
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