Songs for a Hurricane

Kris Delmhorst

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 12, 2003)
• Original Release Date: August 12, 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Signature Sounds Recordingss
• ASIN: B0000AGWGB
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #106,093 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

A favorite of folk fans in the Boston area, the singer-songwriter makes a striking bid for a broader audience with her third release. The propulsive "East of the Mountains" and "Short Work" benefit from the backbeat of former Morphine drummer Billy Conway (Delmhorst's co-producer), while "Hurricane" builds to a furious climax through the Neil Young-style guitar squall of Kevin Barry. Multi-instrumentalist Delmhorst seasons various tracks with fiddle, cello, and guitars. Though her breathy, brooding vocals can occasionally sound a bit mannered--giving a cloying quality to the overly precious "Hummingbird"--most of the musical settings reinforce the power of her elemental imagery. While the bulk of the material evokes the turbulence of a relationship, the conviction that Delmhorst brings to her music suggests that it would take an awfully strong wind to blow her away. --Don McLeese

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unforgettable Voice, Beautiful Music, January 26, 2004

By	Thomas Crochunis (Somerville, MA United States) - See all my reviews

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.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Breath of Fresh Air, October 15, 2003

By A Customer

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.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why isn't she a star?, May 16, 2004

By	ReaderFromAK (Anchorage, AK United States) - See all my reviews

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.