KIM BARLOW
Champ
Jericho Beach Music
· Kim Barlow is a great Canadian talent, shining just as brightly as the northern lights she sleeps under.
Yukon singer-songwriter Kim Barlow taught herself to play the banjo while sitting around the Yukon campfires of her childhood, and it is just this same earthy, organic feeling that is captured on Barlow’s fifth album Champ. Recorded at Old Crow Recording studio during a record-breaking cold snap in Whitehorse, the intimacy and vulnerability is wonderfully captured in Barlow’s nuanced emotive vocals.
Barlow sets herself apart from the hordes of folk singer-songwriters by managing to combine traditional elements such as banjo and fingerpicked guitar, with more contemporary techniques and structures. Her music is often sparse, letting the imperfections of her voice shine through and create an incredibly personal listening experience. With a slight Neko Case twang mixed with a little Joni Mitchell, Barlow’s voice is far from perfect, but none of this seems to matter as she draws you into her tales of pony camp and sailors at sea. Her whimsical writing is both personal and allegorical, and tracks like "Great White Nothing" touchingly pay homage to her northern roots. Other gems include lines such as "how can she not see that you’re the bees knees/ and you’ve got all the lovin’ she needs?" Barlow is at her peak on "Things I miss," where pure emotion and pain are evident in her vocal performance. She loses a little steam on "Strawberry Roan," where she tries to be too experimental, but comes out sounding weirdly disjointed instead. Overall, Barlow’s charmingly sincere album will appeal to more than just fans of folk music and will warm many a frozen heart.
|
Copyright ©2007 FFWD. All rights reserved.