Faith Groves cuts through the illusion with “Smoke & Mirrors”

In her newest single “Smoke & Mirrors,” Faith Groves is renewing the legacy of the ’90s country greats with a voice that cuts as deep as the steel guitar that propels the track. Echoing the spirit of a classic cheating song, “Smoke & Mirrors” plays like a country fairytale gone utterly wrong, not in a magic forest, but in The Wizard of Oz with all that yellow brick road behind it. Groves gives us a heroine who’s finally seen, well, behind the curtain. The man she once believed in? Just another slick talker draped in rhinestones, all show, no soul. She sings in a voice that’s half spirit, half grace.

But it’s how this track straddles the line between old and new school that makes the cuts stand out. Faith‘s vocal delivery is solid, with a throwback Reba-range storytelling slathered in early Shania sass, but the production adds a modern sheen, so nothing is too mired in the past. The steel guitar cries with conviction, the rhythm section maintains an honest, soulful, steady backbeat, and the lyrics don’t flinch. When lines honoring Dorothy’s progression crop up, it offers the track some clever turns left but never falls into too much.

This is a final look back before the boots walk off for good. It’s not trying to reinvent country music, it remains rooted, wearing the sound of the ’90s on its sleeve with pride. At a time when pop so often poses in a country dress, Faith Groves is the true article, returning the genre to its soul of storytelling. With this set, Groves has shown that she’s a truth-teller with a heart that won’t settle for illusions. “Smoke & Mirrors” is a declaration.