The overall effect is noirish and biting, showing a fast-developing talent. And it proves that the current ability of "anybody" to get affordable, digital home recording equipment and make a "professional-sounding" CD isn't all it's cracked up to be. A guy and a guitar can make a home recording every bit as affecting as someone using ProTools, effects, and a hard drive the size of Saturn. It's about talent and spirit, not toys. Aaron McMullan's got the first two, and that Kirsten Dunst tennis ball makes three.
Available via download here.
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Kierstin Gray, Anything & Everything: The Second Edition
This is a pleasant enough acoustic R&B album, but it doesn't do justice to Kierstin Gray's live show. On stage Gray is assured and smooth, with strong vocals and acoustic guitar riffing. But the CD, which is mostly guitar and voice, sounds like it has a case of "studio freeze," where the artist is nervous and hyperconscious of getting things perfect at the expense of soul. And Gray does have a deep, warm soulfulness. It's evident in her live performance, and will be evident, I predict, in her forthcoming recordings. On stage, backed by her excellent drummer and bassist, she reminds one a little of Bonnie Raitt (vocally), Tracy Chapman (the vibe), even the Doobie Brothers (the satiny grooves). The band's fusion of folk and funk, built around Gray's rock-solid acoustic guitar work, has both restrained fire and suave panache. My recommendation: see Kierstin Gray live if you can, and keep an eye out for her forthcoming recordings.
Available at CD Baby.
Article comments
1 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
jon - thank you, man. that's all a fella can say. i would say how great this column is, but right now i'd be accused of all sortsa heinous acts. Suffice to say that "shane macgowan" thing will be stapled to my head for all to see.