Chappell Roan’s Wonderfully Repackages Herself On The Giver - Single Review

In an Instagram post announcing her latest single, The Giver, Chappell Roan commented on the unique experience of being able to lean into her roots to craft her first country (or “cuntry”, as she calls it) song, “I grew up listening to it every morning and afternoon on my school bus and had it swirling around me at bon fires, grocery stores and karaoke bars”. The singer’s iteration of the genre maintains its traditional grit and rootin'-tootin' attitude, but Roan additionally works in the sort of punchy language and theatrical flair that she’s trademarked as her own. 

The Giver directly targets whatever part of the brain is in control of movement. The shimmering, decorative strings and hypnotic marching percussion, courtesy of Dan Nigro, cast a lovely luminous glow over Roan’s salacious script. “And other boys may need a map/but I can close my eyes/and have you wrapped around my fingers like that”, she sings defiantly in the opening verse. On The Giver, Roan dons a hard hat and gets straight to work doing what all the burly country guys can’t - pleasing women. The lyrics are equal parts flirty and feisty, with the protagonist splitting her time between satisfying women and teaching the country boy quitters how to do it properly. Roan riotously repackages herself on The Giver, showing that she can be the best new star in any genre she so chooses.