Kris Delmhorst
Songs for a Hurricane

(Signature Sounds)

First Appeared at The Music Box, September 2003, Volume 10, #9

Written by John Metzger

Kris Delmhorst has sold more than 25,000 copies of her first two albums (Appetite and Five Stories), and she’s also gone on tour to support such well-respected artists as Chris Smither and Dar Williams. That’s not too shabby, considering Delmhorst is a do-it-yourself type of gal stuck within a big business world. Whether that’s by choice or by necessity is neither here nor there, and the fact of the matter is that Delmhorst has stuck to it and succeeded, largely by winning over fans one by one as she tirelessly tours the country. Her third full-length effort Songs for a Hurricane was produced by Morphine’s Billy Conway, and using Neil Young’s Like a Hurricane as a starting point, she conjures up a whirlwind of introspective folk-rock about the often tumultuous and tenuous nature of relationships. The Young-penned track doesn’t appear on the disc, but his presence is felt throughout the thematically linked songs that are sandwiched like the eye of a storm between the blowing winds that begin and end the album. Whether exploring feelings of shy yearning (Hummingbird), anger and resentment (Short Work), determination (Weathervane), suffocation (Bobby Lee), or acceptance of a foregone conclusion (Wasted Word), Delmhorst tackles emotions with a sense of personal, heart-on-her-sleeve honesty that is profoundly refreshing. ½

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Ratings

1 Star:   Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!

Copyright © 2003 The Music Box