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Melineh Kurdian, From Where You Are
Folk-rocker Melineh Kurdian takes inspiration from the Indigo Girls and Ani DiFranco as well as the traditions of American roots music. Nothing unusual there; umpteen folk-rockers meet that description. What sets Kurdian apart is the sheer beauty of her songs and of the voice that brings them to life, a voice with a measure of Patty Griffin's ability to wrench the heart. "Santa Maria" almost knocks you over with loveliness; "Devil's Child" is a poignant, almost achingly generous response to intolerance.
On the technical side, Kurdian's own superior guitar skills seem to have inspired the supporting musicians - including lead guitarists Rob Endicott (a name new to me) and Ann Klein (who's played with just about everyone) to excellent work.
Klein's leads fire up "Cowgirl Love Song," whose lyrics neatly capture life's biggest dilemma with a musical metaphor: "That's a tough chord, that's a hard question to play/That's a lot of love that you shove in my direction every day." "Goddamn n' Just Do" is a muscular take on the "Hit the Road, Jack" theme: "I am the unexpected man that can, I am a wild woman you don't know could/I am what you could and should but won't 'cause you won't follow through... So, pack your heartache, put away your bellyache/Goddamn and Just Do." Put that in your pipe and smoke it, [insert teenage pop moppet here].
What Kurdian doesn't have are big hooks. That's no fatal flaw in music with this rare combination of airy beauty and earthy grace, but it's the one thing (other than dumb luck and the unfairness of the world) that could keep Kurdian from reaching the level of folk-rock royalty like the Indigo Girls and Shawn Colvin.
Catch her at Invasion of the GoGirls at South by Southwest in March. Buy the CD at CD Baby here.
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