KAREN LOVELY – Fish Outta Water

KAREN LOVELY – Fish Outta Water
Independent through Blind Raccoon
June 2017
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
7 ½ /10

The dusty Texan dirtbowl blues of Karen Lovely boasts her earthy and soulful vocals, and a country twang amongst its economical arrangements.

At her best singing of the openness of dusty West Texan roads and the loneliness of relationship fallouts, Producer and writer or co-writer of many of these tracks, Eric Corne, gives Lovely’s songs sparse beauty and fragility to mirror their sentiments.

The first half of the record is sombre – soul-searching, redemption-seeking blues. An inspiring slide solo on Everything Means Nothing heralds some sunshine peeking through the cracks, and Next Time’s upbeat jazz groove is a wonderful change of pace.

Nice and Easy sees Lovely return to sultry blues, whilst Punk Rock Johnny Cash reeks of indie country cool – a violin and what sounds like a mandolin (though none is listed in the liner notes) underscoring a vocal full of sass and longing.

 

Category: CD Reviews