Customer Reviews

Songs for a Hurricane

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Admittedly, I'm a sucker for great women singers. But on this album Kris Delmhorst shows she has much more than a distinctive voice, bringing a thematically linked set of songs together with some wonderful musicianship by Delmhorst and her band. And yet, it really is Delmhorst's voice that makes this an album to listen to both casually and carefully... repeatedly. But while you listen, you'll also find that this CD shows lots of respect for folk music styles. A sample of the songs and why I can't stop listening:

"East of the Mountains"
This country ballad displays something of Delmhorst's feel for a range of music styles. The voice here has all the rich texture of the gentler songs on the album, but applied to a quick-tempo tale of a woman "sent away" by her family, never to see her lover again, Delmhorst registers both sensual longing and resilient anger.

"Bobby Lee"
Of the many songs on the album that give Delmhorst a chance to really give the warmth of her voice full sway, this along with "Mingalay" may be the best. And while the star here is the wonderful tone of voice that gives the song's simple melody its full emotional range, the more I listen, the more I find myself thinking about its subject... the difficulty of "rolling the stone away" in a maybe-permanently broken relationship.

This song is a great example of just how resourceful a musician Delmhorst is, neither just a singer nor just a songwriter. You sense here that the album has a non-ostentatious feel for making use of its range of resources, much like you do when you listen to Merrie Amsterberg's "Little Steps" or Lucinda Williams' "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" (as different as those artists are from Delmhorst).

"Juice and June"
At her most sultry here, Delmhorst and her band take it slow to get across the beauty of dancing toward passion, under the influence of "juice and June." The lovely risks of letting yourself fall too soon, which are slyly linked here to the pleasures of indulging in the music itself, give the song that wonderful quality of being a song about falling that lures its listener into falling for the song's own "juice and June."

"Hurricane"
I just have to begin by saying that this one sends chills down my spine. Again, and again. Why? Well, the song is about loving (someone's) storminess. It's an appealing tune, makes you want to sing it. And while the lyrics aren't unnecessarily tangled up with poetry... the texture of Delmhorst's voice gets a hold of the passion without histrionics... that is, through singing in the purest sense, not a display of singing. She handles the song the way a great actor does a great monologue, letting the material fully register in herself and show her the way to give it voice. And so she let's the song unfold toward its stormy closing instrumental burst in a way that feels organic.

"Come Home"
A song that could show up on a Gillian Welch album, here played simply with background rain effects, and sung with that remarkable voice. Listen to it on headphones to hear how Delmhorst keeps it simple and yet there's nothing simple in a voice working with a song's genre to capture its expressive range while staying true to its style.

"Wasted Word"
A sweet tune, about making the "wasted" past right in the lovely present. Pain has never looked so sweet, sincerely so, but you can't sing this song and make it believable unless you have a voice that can capture pain and beauty at once.

"Short Work"
A sort of country shuffle on betrayal and paying it back. Again, Delmhorst knows how to work within the song's shape to texture it musically but not interfere with the expressive potentials that it has as written.

"Mingalay"
An album that circles its hurricane theme throughout would not be complete without a traditional sailor's ballad... given a thoughtful update here through Delmhorst's final verse that complements the song's traditional look homeward from the sea with a look out to sea from those waiting on land. Played here with a bluesy sultriness, the song allows Delmhorst to handle the melody with a characteristic mix of aching tenderness and passion.

And again, you'll be torn between singing along and listening in rapt silence. To me, a singer who can cultivate precisely this conflict in the listener must be doing something right.

If you want to get a sense of just how remarkable the songwriting is here, do this: make a short playlist for yourself of
"East of the Mountains"
"Bobby Lee"
"Juice and June"
"Hurricane"
"Wasted Word"
"Mingalay"
and give this short set a listen. I defy you to find me a more beautiful set of songs on any recent recording, though each is different in style. But don't keep listening to this short set, go back to the full CD and listen to it all.

This is very, very good songwriting, musicianship, and, not least of all, singing. Spread the word, because this is an artist who deserves an appreciative audience.

I've never written a review before, but this album propelled me to attempt to capture its haunting beauty and power. As the Amazon review notes, Kris is indeed a Boston favorite, and with good reason. In a crowded acoustic scene, she unwaveringly stands as an exceptional songwriter, lyricist and very competent vocalist. "Songs" is a wind-swept, emotional and vivid piece of work, one that you'll very likely find yourself in. Songs like "Waiting Under the Waves" and "You're No Train" capture the complexities of relationships lost and found, while "Weathervane" and "Hurricane" are more driving, forceful songs. Overall, "Hurricane" has an alt-country/roots feel, reminiscent of the best work of Buddy and Julie Miller and Emmylou Harris. More than her other albums, "Hurricane" is incredibly textured, capturing the sheer beauty and desolation of a storm as it approaches, sets in, pounds, and ultimately departs. It is an album that will captivate your attention and call you into its quiet center. The songs here are interconnected which is compelling in some ways, but can be a bit emotionally overwhelming at points. I read in the Boston Globe recently a review which said that this album would be the one to bring Kris to a national audience, calling it a "local masterpiece." Hear it, and you'll see why. Let this art blow into your life, and rest in its gentle, thoughtful wake.

I love female singer-songwriters-- I'm a huge fan of Gillian Welch as well as Joni Mitchell, Ani Difranco, the Indigo Girls, Lucinda Williams, Alison Krauss, Norah Jones, etc. I'm always on the lookout for more to add to list, and if you'll let me mix my metaphors, Kris Delmhorst is a diamond in a haystack. Her voice and lyrics are beautiful and I'm really surprised that she isn't better known. Thank goodness I happened upon amazon's free download because I had never heard of this amazing woman. I went right out and bought all of her CDs and every last one is worth it. The songs range from mellow and introspective to rollicking and bluegrassy. If you like Alison Kruass, Norah Jones, Joni Mitchell, or the Indigo Girls I almost guarantee you'll appreciate Kris's albums.

If you needed proof that the best songwriters out there are not the most famous, Kris is it. Her voice will floor you and her lyrics will pick you back up again. Buy this album, and then go and buy Red Bird, her collaboration with P. Mulvey and J. Foucault. You won't regret it.

Delmhorsts songs are strong, implacable and iconic. In this album she really abandons the personal-confessional style of 90s-era acoustic songwriting -- and fully comes into her own, using the pure voice of metaphor, myth, and image. Delmhorst loves the negative image -- "Baby, you're no train, you're the track" ... "no more weathervane, I'm gonna be the wind / no more turn around" -- and through her gorgeous low voice you can hear the muscle of her language rippling powerfully beneath.

And what a voice! It grows dark, menacing in minor in the likes of "East of the Mountains," "Weathervane" and "Come Home on the Train," and so sweet and gauzelike in "Juice + June" and (especially) "Mingalay" that the hard of heart would grow teary-eyed to hear her.

Simply put, this album is a keeper.

This is one of those rare cds that I can listen to for days at a time and not get tired or annoyed. There is quite the musical mix and yet Kris's voice is constantly blending in perfectly as it floats over the music. This cd has it all: upbeat 'bluegrassy' songs such as "Bobby Lee", "East of The Mountains", "Come Home" and "Short Work". It has slow, jazzy songs "Waiting Under the Waves" and "Juice+June". Then there are the more 'rocky' songs "Wasted Word", "Weathervane". And of course, my personal favorites, the sad, mellow songs that really allow Kris's vocals to shine "Too Late", "You're No Train", and "Mingalay". "Hummingbird" is one of the most beautiful songs I have EVER heard and it is my favorite of this cd. I can get lost in this music and that is a good thing. Kris has a unique and soulful voice that can put me to sleep or get me excited to be alive. I love this cd and highly recommend it to all!!

I don't buy much North American music, though you'll find Caroline Lavelle, Loreena Mckennitt, Mae Moore, Sarah McLachlan, October Project, Paul Simon, Kristine W, Milla Jovovich, and Over the Rhine in my collection (all of these, by the way, are recommended). Kris Delmhorst was unknown to me until just a few weeks ago. Based on a personal recommendation (thanks a million, Katie!) I bought it, and I have been listening to it almost non-stop since. I adore this album!

To those unfamiliar with this artist, her voice is somewhat reminiscent of McLachlan's, but the songs are moodier, less contrived, and seem more personal than McLachlan's. In that respect, her work has more in common with Mae Moore, but with a more visceral approach.

Several of the songs contain imagery of trains and hurricanes, the reasons for which are mysterious....

This aggressively melancholy album examines loss, grief, and disappointment without flinching from the most painful aspects. Delmhorst uses hurricanes and weather to recreate the turmoil we all face when relationships come to an unwanted end. Her mix of acoustic tradition and mildly innovative electric sound creates a folk rock hybrid that sounds like nothing else out there, and her product is enjoyable, touching, and a sheer joy to hear.