LaCosta Tucker, the veteran 1970s country trailblazer who logged 14 singles on the charts and dropped five albums during her initial run, is opening her vault to share her new release, “It Matters to Me.” The historical backdrop is fascinating. Tucker originally cut this song first, long before it morphed into a multi-platinum smash for Faith Hill. Now, decades later, she is officially sharing her previously unheard, original take.
The track wastes absolutely zero time cutting to the bone. It opens with a gentle, flowing rhythmic progression that traps you in an uncomfortably intimate room. From there, Tucker untangles a messy web of emotional distance. She confronts a profoundly dismissive partner, capturing the exact, sickening sting of realizing your communication and physical affection have vanished completely. Her vocals steadily rise and fall, brilliantly mirroring the tension of a neglected romance, before breaking open into a sweeping, emotionally driven country pop climax. That frustration spills over into a soaring, sustained solo section filled with a driving, bittersweet resonance.
The entire experience feels overwhelmingly melancholic and vulnerable. The grief of pleading into an emotional void feels so entirely raw here.
Which makes you wonder how many other massive pop-country standards are currently locked away somewhere, quietly holding the untamed heartache of the woman who bled over them first?
