Picked up by RedHouse Records after a her self-released album ‘The Jeopardy of Circumstance’ received great coverage in the US and UK; this new album is a real step up in every respect and shows Carrie to be one of the strongest of the new generation of US folk singer/songwriters.
She has a diverse background that saw her compete for national honours as young gymnast (and an invitation to join the circus), a degree in physiology, and onto work as a organic chemist – but these were all steps along the path to becoming a singer/songwriter, and her life experience is evident in her songs. She’s sharp at picking up the little details and snippets of information that create an intimate, but still universal, feel to the songs, this is perfectly illustrated on ‘Shots Rang Out’ which feels like both like a personal recollection of a tale, but it’s presented in a manner that makes it feel like a film.
The overall feel of the disc is of open acoustic spaces, the instrumentation is fairly traditional American contemporary folk, with acoustic guitars, banjo, slide, fiddle and bass making up some of the soundscape that creates atmosphere for the lyrics, but more importantly gives her vocals space to shine.
Carrie is a fantastically warm singer, unshowy in her delivery, but a master of conveying the message and emotions of her characters – her interpretation of Dar Williams’ ‘Iowa’ has a totally different feel to the original, and her song ‘Dear Sam’ (both written for and featuring Sam Baker) is full of imagery and sentiment that is impossible to ignore.
All in all, this is an understated, but hugely powerful collection of songs, and one that offers its rewards and subtleties over repeated listens – an album not to be missed!
Released March 7th, pre-order for shipment on release.
Track listing
1 Jesse Likes Birds
2 Guilty Hands
3 Lift Up The Anchor
4 The Things We're Afraid Of
5 Iowa
6 Landeth By Sea
7 Shots Rang Out
8 Berlin
9 St. Louis
10 Dear Sam
11 Edge Of The World
review 7 Feb 2011
