Female Texas singer/songwriter mixing folk, country, and rock into wonderful story driven songs delivered with precision and a beautiful voice.

15 MP3 Songs
FOLK: Folk-Rock, ROCK: Americana

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Houston Chronicle CD Reviews

Houston singer-songwriter Carrie Ann Buchanan and the Apocalyptics.

Feb. 13, 2008, 12:19PM
The Apocalyptics are arresting

By JOEY GUERRA
Copyright Houston Chronicle 2008

The sound of pure joy â and the strains of real growth â permeate Strong Wind, the first full-length disc from Carrie Ann and the Apocalyptics.

The disc is an easy, effortless listen, dancing lightly around folk and country structures without strictly adhering to one sound. Every moment sparkles with enthusiasm. It's a (very) early contender for one of the year's best local records.

So much goodness is the result of several strong factors, including careful, crafty production from Richard Cagle and Larry Cooper (frontman for local Americana outfit L.L. Cooper). They keep a clear musical point of view, and the disc is far ahead of singer/songwriter Carrie Ann Buchanan's demos from just two years ago.

Mostly, though, Strong Wind is an arresting showcase for Buchanan's delicate â but determined â vocals and songwriting. The thoughtful frontwoman (from Alliance, Neb.) has been married since 1997 to acclaimed Texas roots-rocker Opie Hendrix, who plays guitar on a trio of tunes. Sideshow Tramps member Geoffrey Mueller and singer Sarah Golden add to the local lustre.

Buchanan lists Dolly Parton, Kate Bush and the Indigo Girls as influences, and those all come through in her work. But she's also an uncanny vocal ringer for Jewel, minus the flirty, precious affectations, and '70s-era Olivia Newton-John, especially on opener In Two and Simpler Life. It's an often gorgeous sound.

If Strong Wind were a national release, it would surely take the steam out of Jewel's upcoming gone-country release.

Grass has a haunting, alt-country twang, and If You Only Knew is a slow-dance swooner, complete with retro flourishes that would be perfectly suited to some moody David Lynch scene.

Sometimes Ur Up is highlighted by fiddler Hilary Sloan's sparkling work and Susan Jackson's sprightly backing vocals. You'll be hard-pressed to resist the song's kitschy charm. ("Just keep climbin' 'til you find firm ground.") It'll have you searching for the nearest barn dance.

Glory Glory is a driving gospel strummer, and Strong Wind has a winning psychedelic bent, anchored by searing, sly guitar work. It's a little bit Sheryl Crow, a little bit Lucinda Williams (definitely a good thing).

Closing tune Soldier's Song is the disc's sweetest moment and a nice surprise. Military-themed tunes are tricky. They're usually groan-inducing in their self-righteousness or glazed with sentimentality.

Buchanan's offering manages to be sincere without being sappy â "I still feel you/Even though you're gone/And I still hear you in every note of every song" â a sentiment that could be applied to most of her winning, wistful disc.


joey.guerra@chron.com

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