M.O.T.O.
MISS ALEX WHITE AND THE RED ORCHESTRA
Freakwater’s seventh album (and first in nearly six years) bodes well for the future of the 23-year partnership between Janet Bean and Catherine Irwin. With its hair-raising vocal harmonies, Thinking of You often recalls the Louvin Brothers’ best, Satan Is Real–and the roses on the CD cover are wreathed in flames, a nod to that album’s fire-and-brimstone artwork. Bean and Irwin are a powerful writing team with a talent for finding just the right devastating detail; highlights include the obsessive love song “Jack the Knife” and the allegorical protest number “Buckets of Oil.”
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Tijuana Hercules | Black Pisces
- THE NEW BLACK
Last winter Edith Frost returned to the studio after a four-year hiatus, prodded by her longtime producer and musical foil Rian Murphy. The album that resulted is a wonderfully sad and dreamy affair–an introverted set of anti-love songs, moonstruck honky-tonk, and hushed, intimate wee-small-hours pop, with Frost’s insinuating melodies floating through gauzy, tasteful country-folk arrangements. Despite its modest scope, her intelligent music constantly surprises you with flashes of heartstring-tugging beauty.
