If you haven’t caught up with RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 3 and you’ve also managed to avoid all the spoilers out there on who won the show, then we absolutely applaud you and suggest you catch up before reading this article because we will be letting you know who won for the purpose of this album review. With that out of the way, we can say, it was Trixie Mattel who won All Stars 3, and upon that news, she dropped a brand new album this week, titled “One Stone”.
The album contains seven tracks and has been released independently – as most Drag Race alumni do. This is officially her second studio album, following up her 2017 debut album “Two Birds” which charted in various charts around the world. She has previously released a bunch of singles, collaborated with other drag queens, and released two EPs, titled “Greener” (which was released under his own name Brian Firkus) in 2009 and “Homemade Christmas” in 2017. This album is set to hit charts all around the globe this week, which is no surprise since it was released at the same time as Trixie Mattel won RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 3.
“One Stone” is a country album – which is the genre that Trixie Mattel specialises in – but as she proved on All Stars 3, she is very versatile. This album showcases how far she has come and why she was a winner, baby. Here’s our review.
Little Sister
https://open.spotify.com/track/0h0kiRMBmc1mRVtL075OvL?si=tcM0AFzEQsGlXaHLrhlRGQ
What a way to start this album! “Little Sister” is a cute country number that is rhythmically pleasing and really highlights Trixie Mattel’s rhyming poetry ability. The song is clearly very personal and it is touching just listening to the song alone, but if you delve a bit deeper and read through the lyrics, you really wouldn’t believe how incredible this song truly is.
Break Your Heart
This is a slightly more upbeat country track from the last one. It has a country-pop style to it as Trixie Mattel werks it with this comical lyrical song. There’s a lot to like about this track and something we’d totally play at full volume when thinking of our ex’s. It’s quite groovy for a country-pop track, one that we will certainly replay again and again.
Soldier
The start of this song is totally misleading – but what should we really expect from a drag queen? We hear a trumpet being played at the start which brings a depressing sad mood right from the get-go until Trixie Mattel jumps in with the jovial line: “Weirdness follows me wherever I go”; well, this was unexpected. The song is all about letting things go. Trixie Mattel’s voice is slightly distorted on this track as she fails to harmonise completely during the vocals. Regardless, the meaning behind the track comes across and it really does have a happy spin around this track – one that allows us to forget our troubles for just a few moments.
Red Side Of The Moon
This is a ballad of a track that is giving us Toy Story vibes for some bizarre reason. Once again the overlay isn’t perfect, but this really works for this track as we hear everything about this “Judy”. What really impresses is Trixie Mattel’s singing ability, this song is pumped with so much emotion that every single word is heart-hitting as we wonder more about “Judy” and “Loving from the red side of the moon”.
Moving Parts
A positive start in the backing track always suggests that the lyrics don’t quite accompany it – yes we are getting used to Trixie Mattel’s tricks – and this one counts too. This drag queen sure knows how to dig deep for her lyrics and regardless of the toe-tapping ways of this song, the lyrics speak a thousand more words. As for her voice, it’s been consistant throughout, and this one is much the same; however, she adds her own rhythm to this one and it really works in every way.
The Well
After some pretty great tracks, “The Well” comes at just the right time because Trixie Mattel’s vocals are on-point in this track from the outset. We’ve been wracking our brains trying to think what the song reminds us of and it has just clicked after the first chorus; this song reminds us of Boggie’s “Wars For Nothing” which was Hungary’s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. It’s only a small part but we hear the very slight similarity. Both songs have great lyrical content and we are calling this track officially our favourite on this album – we simply adore it.
Wind Up Man
Last track on the album and we feel that the title refers back to the previous track “Moving Parts”. The song kicks in straight away, which is certainly something different. The song is about falling for a “Wind Up Man”, which can be taken into two contexts, whether that actually being the robotic man that she paints the story of or someone we like to call a wind-up merchant. Either way, you fall for who you fall for. Trixie Mattel knows this best and fully gives this upbeat track quite the story. This one really proves that this drag queen can write and sing. She’s a force in the music industry and we can’t wait to see where she goes with it. This just proved that she deserved the All Stars 3 crown.
Overall this album is a great collection of tracks. Usually, we complain that there’s only a short number, but there’s only so much that can be given to listeners in one LP, and this was a perfect amount. Trixie Mattel has outdone herself in every way, this is one solid album that we can’t do without. It deserves recognition, it deserves chart numbers, it deserves awards, but most of all, it deserves to be heard around the world, because this is on-point and pure country perfection.
“One Stone” is available to download and stream right now. It was released independently. So, go and support this legendary drag queen, because she will no doubt go down in history.