JDaniel
03-23-2005, 07:57 AM
I just gave a first listen to a new disc by Mary Gauthier - Mercy Now. All I can say is WOW. This is the closest thing I've heard that compares to Lucinda Williams, who's a big fav. of mine. Both are from Louisiana, and it shows in their music and lyrics. If you're looking for something new, I'd recommend it.
I'd also recommend the new Kathleen Edwards album Back To Me. It is much better than Failer IMHO, and is more rootsy.
Here's a description of the Mary Gauthier album from Amazon:
Amazon.com
A spark of redemption illuminates even the darker songs on Mercy Now, the fourth album by Mary Gauthier (pronounced "go-shay"). The influence of her native Louisiana pervades her Southern Gothic songcraft, which first won an audience in the folk clubs of Boston. After a series of releases on independent labels, her Lost Highway debut seems destined to expand that audience significantly. Within her mature, weather-beaten artistry, Dylanesque metaphysics go to Mardi Gras on "Wheel Inside the Wheel"; the naked emotion and eye for detail of "Your Sister Cried" and "Empty Spaces" conjure comparisons with Lucinda Williams (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/artist/glance/-/114558/102-4102853-1371310); and the plainspoken "I Drink" and "Drop in a Bucket" have the bittersweet bite of the best of John Prine (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/artist/glance/-/36306/102-4102853-1371310). The spare arrangements of producer/guitarist Gurf Morlix (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/artist/glance/-/201098/102-4102853-1371310), punctuated by cello, organ, and harmonica, give the material plenty of room to breathe. Gauthier's vocals are half-spoken, half-sung, and all soul. --Don McLeese
Entertainment Weekly - B+
The beauty of Gauthier's country noir lies in the humanity of her characters and in the yerning of her drawl.
JD
I'd also recommend the new Kathleen Edwards album Back To Me. It is much better than Failer IMHO, and is more rootsy.
Here's a description of the Mary Gauthier album from Amazon:
Amazon.com
A spark of redemption illuminates even the darker songs on Mercy Now, the fourth album by Mary Gauthier (pronounced "go-shay"). The influence of her native Louisiana pervades her Southern Gothic songcraft, which first won an audience in the folk clubs of Boston. After a series of releases on independent labels, her Lost Highway debut seems destined to expand that audience significantly. Within her mature, weather-beaten artistry, Dylanesque metaphysics go to Mardi Gras on "Wheel Inside the Wheel"; the naked emotion and eye for detail of "Your Sister Cried" and "Empty Spaces" conjure comparisons with Lucinda Williams (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/artist/glance/-/114558/102-4102853-1371310); and the plainspoken "I Drink" and "Drop in a Bucket" have the bittersweet bite of the best of John Prine (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/artist/glance/-/36306/102-4102853-1371310). The spare arrangements of producer/guitarist Gurf Morlix (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/artist/glance/-/201098/102-4102853-1371310), punctuated by cello, organ, and harmonica, give the material plenty of room to breathe. Gauthier's vocals are half-spoken, half-sung, and all soul. --Don McLeese
Entertainment Weekly - B+
The beauty of Gauthier's country noir lies in the humanity of her characters and in the yerning of her drawl.
JD