The title Terri Hendrix chose for her new album, The Art of Removing Wallpaper, is obviously a metaphor—one that becomes clear in the last verse of its opening song, “Breakdown”: “Now you can cover it up with wallpaper / Cover it up with paint or / Hang a masterpiece on the wall / Sooner or later the day’s gonna come when you have to face / What’s underneath it all.”
Sometimes that’s a much harder process than home improvement but, ultimately, even more rewarding, as the Texas resident learned while writing songs for her seventh album. With impeccable musicianship, Hendrix delivers 11 tracks of wit and wisdom (plus one instrumental) that again raise questions about why she’s still paying dues in the Terminally Underappreciated Club, membership she shares with similarly inclined artists Amy Rigby and Christine Lavin.
But that may change with Wallpaper. Her recognition factor has grown since co-writing “Lil’ Jack Slade,” a Grammy-winning instrumental on the Dixie Chicks’ Home. Her Chicks connection is Lloyd Maines, Natalie’s dad and Hendrix’s longtime co-producer and songwriting/performing partner.
“Lloyd’s really fun to travel with,” Hendrix says. “We have a lot of crazy moments. I can’t read a Yahoo map backward to save my life.”
She might not be able to navigate back to where she started, but that’s OK. The point—career-wise and personally—is to move forward.