Distillation is an excellent name for this album. Rather than being of derivative of roots music, bluegrass, country blues, and folk, McKeown distills these genres. She melted down these styles, incorporated the spirit of them, and came up with her own voice. All but one track here is original. They reach back into remote, rustic regions for sounds and ideas. McKeown is a mirror that reflects it all in new form. The Virginia native comes up with a sound that is part gypsy jazz, part...   [ read more ]

CD $16.13

CD $15.18

Erin McKeown should have called this disc "Don't Fence Me In." The least she could have done was to record the song, anyway. Instead, McKeown tries her hand at just about every genre you might want to hear from her. The only common Grand threads to be found here are her voice and writing. On first glance she's your standard folk-pop torch-bearer with clever lyrical and melodic turns such as "Slung-Lo" and "Born to Hum"; turn your head and she's become a soft-core new wave rocker, as on...   [ read more ]

CD $12.33