BBC Review 1bj6o
A solid if unspectacular sixth album from the Ohio artist.
Nick Barraclough 2010
You’ve got to be in the right mood for this; and if your mood is frenetic, this is perfect. It will calm you.
There are no sudden surprises, there is nothing disturbing, irritating or upsetting. It is absolutely fine. To quote the accompanying blurb: “an artist who doesn’t fit easily into a box, who is broader than one category, who is simply ‘good’”.
“Good”. That’s spot-on. There is nothing wrong with the singing – nice voice. Lyrically there are a couple of words solely for the sake of the rhyme, but not many. Fine playing, arrangements and production. Quite nice artwork, too.
A well-turned-out album, then – but after it’s over it doesn’t stay with you. And that surely is what we want.
Kim was a teacher, in Ohio, before she set out on a singing career. This is her sixth album, and she’s made an effort in the UK, having lived for a while in London, and has attracted a decent following after a number of tours here.
She is known mainly as a writer, having had success with songs covered by the likes of Mary Chapin Carpenter, Trisha Yearwood and James Morrison, and has lent her very pleasant vocals to a few luminaries including Ryan Adams and Shawn Colvin.
Though not strictly a country writer, she spent a lot of time in Nashville, and clearly absorbed the sense of songwriting craft that pervades that town. Maybe she needs also to spend some time in Memphis and New Orleans. As an awful man in marketing once said, “we’ve got the sausage, now all we need is the sizzle”.
I think I’ll put track four, For a While, on my iPod though; it’s a bit bluesy. Might as well.
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