Monday, September 27, 2010

Hello it’s me the mistress, will you please pick up the phone?

Number 55 or so in my list of records that really should make my year-end list on the basis of quality, but which probably won’t on the basis of 10 is a tiny little number, Amelia Curran’s Hunter, Hunter has been out in Canada for a year or so, and even got a Juno. It’s so good…I wrote:

Hunter, Hunter sneaks up on you. The songs aren’t showy. There are no gimmicks. Curran plays no tricks with her voice, and sticks close to tradition with her arrangement. Yet listen after listen, these melodies gain traction and little bits of the lyrics stick in your head. You realize, quite gradually, that this album is a subtle triumph, maybe even a minor classic, and in any case, well worth waiting the year or so it took to make it to the States.

More

I put “The Mistress” on my August mix, which I’ve been listening to a lot lately while doing the dishes, etc.and it’s pretty damned good. You can still get it here, if you want.


There’s also this live performance of “All Hands on a Grain of Sand”

2 comments:

robp said...

Hey Jen,

There are some great lines in that song, but sometimes I find it a bit cloying. Which is a word I never use. So you have me practicing my vocabulary, which is a good thing. Not that I dismiss either the song or the singer, and I'm always grateful when you turn me on to someone, I just don't get this immediately.

jenniferpkelly said...

Cloying is a good word, no doubt about it, but I don't hear it, personally.

I mean, she's got a very sweet tone in her voice, but it doesn't seem too sweet to me. Though, of course, your tolerance may be lower than mine.

Anyway, wow, first comment in forever, thanks Rob!