Shotgun Singer is almost here! Well...it's already "here" to some of us who pre-bought the CD to help get it made...getting a pre-release download before the "official" release in May.
I'm still giving it some spins, but so far, so good. This is different than most anything else she's ever done because of the way she made the recording. Some of it holed up in
Erin McKeown's house, other parts elsewhere...a lot of it being her own sound engineer, producer ...not to mention writing and playing so many different instruments...and all around doin' the indie thang!
I haven't been capturing the lyrics so much yet...I like to do that with the cover in hand...mostly just listening to the melodies. Since I'm not a reviewer, I don't really have all those great adjectives and verbal classifiers to describe the music, so I'll just say for now that it's a pretty esoteric sound...in a definitively Delmhorst sort of way. Kinda dark, kinda mellow, some unique instrumentation, and definitely some 'computerese'/digital type sounds (particularly 1000 Reasons...actually a pretty lively, somewhat pop sound amongst the rest)...certainly not a mainstream A-B-A types of songs! I only recognize one these new offerings, Midnight Ringer...from whence came the CD title.
This isn't a sing along CD. There are no catchy licks, verses, beats. If I were of the sort who smoked the relative of hemp (which I don't), I could see putting this on and mellowing down into a cushy couch with this as your sound track. It's beautiful sounds...interesting songs...certainly not like something a music label would much like to produce...which is one reason she still stays indie...so she can do what SHE wants to do! I think it'll take some getting used to. I might not always be thrilled with everything someone does...but I certainly wish to continue to support them in whatever ways I can to allow them to explore their art. Gotta be honest and say this one probably won't make it on the road trip playlist for me, however.
I've been a big kd fan since I first saw her play with Catie so many years ago as she and Sean Staples filled in as her band when Jimmy Ryan had gotten into a bad accident and couldn't tour. They'd known each other as part of the Boston folks scene, but Kris really hadn't been out here in the west touring on her own. I started going to her shows as soon as she did...almost 10 years ago...wow...time flies. I've heard a lot of different music from Kris over the years and still love hearing her sing...even though I might not "get" every song!
My favorite CD is probably
Five Stories...lots of fun and stuff to sing with...probably much more my overall 'flavor'.
She's heading out west in a little over a week and I look forward to being able to catch at least one of the SF area shows! Will be interested in hearing what others think about the new CD...so please do chime in...and if you've gone to any shows...tell us how they were.
