New York's Annie Keating has been compared to Alt.Country heriones like Lucinda Williams and Gillian Welch but she's less sassy than the former and less morbid than the latter. With her gentle intimacy and warm voice I would liken her more to someone like Nanci Griffith.
The self penned songs of life, love and leaving are in the country-blues vein half recorded in a NYC studio and half at "Annie's place".
You know pretty well what's in store with song titles like 'It already hurts when you leave' or 'I want to start something with you'. She has assembled a large cast of all acoustic players to back her vocals and guitar, no fewer than 18 names are credited on the sleeve.
A key song is the title track of which there are two versions - the second a little faster with a hint of cajun, It's a touching autobiographical song of starting out learning first chords at the age of 12 , coping with Daddy who thinks she should get a 'proper' job and playing her first shows.
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'My Surprise' is the other obvious highlight - a beautifully controlled song built about the memory of a school crush with images of "sunken treasure", "trading secrets" and "stolen hours" capturing a sense of discovering something hidden and faintly illicit. The nostalgia for this time is clear: "I still long to return there sometimes, innocent as we were, you and I".
Taken as a whole, the album is slanted a little too much towards mellow easy listening and would benefit from some rawer edges. Still, there's no mistaking the quality of Keating's songwriting or the simcerity of her voice.
12 t 50.51
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