johnfoyle
08-18-2005, 02:58 AM
http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/entertainment/music/s_364316.html
The Tribune-Review, Pittsburgh
Cantrell defines her own country sound
Details
Laura Cantrell
When: 7 p.m. today.
Admission: $14.
Where: Club Cafe, South Side.
Details: 412-431-4950 or www.clubcafelive.com.
By Regis Behe
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Laura Cantrell isn't your typical country music singer. First, she's on Matador Records, the same label that's home to Yo La Tengo, Mogwai, the New Pornographers and other artists of a decidedly indie stripe.
The second -- and more important -- thing is her voice: more metropolitan than country, without a hint of twang.
"Living in New York for many, many years has diminished my accent," she says during a phone interview from London. "But I don't think you need an accent to sing country music."
Cantrell, who visits Club Cafe on the South Side tonight, grew up in Nashville listening to artists such as Kitty Wells and Skeeter Davis; she also worked as a guide at the Country Music Hall of Fame. She moved to New York City to attend Columbia University, started performing at coffee houses and released a four-song EP with John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants in 1996 before landing a recording contract with a Scottish label.
Then she found a champion in John Peel, the legendary British radio personality who fell in love with her music. Peel, who died in October, called Cantrell's 2000 debut album "Not the Tremblin' Kind," "my favourite record of the last ten years, and possibly my life."
That she's more popular in England than the U.S. seems to fit her particular approach to the genre.
"They might have Alison Moorer or Shelby Lynne as the star (of a program)," says Cantrell, noting there are no strictly country radio stations in the United Kingdom. "Someone like Faith Hill might get one play. Sensibilities are different, and the definitions of what's country and what's not are different. It's more likely that something further from what we think of as commercial, the Hansen Family and Lambchop, these things get put under the banner of American roots-related music."
That's where Cantrell seems to fit best. Her latest release, "Humming by the Flowered Vine" features songs that border on neo-folk -- the lovely, lilting opening track, "14th Street" -- and "Old Downtown," an extended, mid-tempo tune that recalls the work of Robert Earl Keen or perhaps the Flatlanders in its panoramic storytelling.
Though Cantrell's work seems to fit a variety of genres, she leaves little doubt as to which camp she thinks she belongs.
"My own definition of country music is very broad," she says. "It contains a lot of different kinds of music, or influences that aren't just one region of the United States or one era of music. It can sound different at different times. I think that's complicated when you're trying to dumb down your presentation of it into what is maybe commercially acceptable. I actually don't think people need as much spoon-feeding as the way companies market and present it. I think calling what I do country music and not having any explanation of it might confuse people who are not adventurous or interested, but I think for the people who are interested, it makes a lot of sense."
Regis Behe can be reached at rbehe@tribweb.com or (412)320-7990.
The Tribune-Review, Pittsburgh
Cantrell defines her own country sound
Details
Laura Cantrell
When: 7 p.m. today.
Admission: $14.
Where: Club Cafe, South Side.
Details: 412-431-4950 or www.clubcafelive.com.
By Regis Behe
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Laura Cantrell isn't your typical country music singer. First, she's on Matador Records, the same label that's home to Yo La Tengo, Mogwai, the New Pornographers and other artists of a decidedly indie stripe.
The second -- and more important -- thing is her voice: more metropolitan than country, without a hint of twang.
"Living in New York for many, many years has diminished my accent," she says during a phone interview from London. "But I don't think you need an accent to sing country music."
Cantrell, who visits Club Cafe on the South Side tonight, grew up in Nashville listening to artists such as Kitty Wells and Skeeter Davis; she also worked as a guide at the Country Music Hall of Fame. She moved to New York City to attend Columbia University, started performing at coffee houses and released a four-song EP with John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants in 1996 before landing a recording contract with a Scottish label.
Then she found a champion in John Peel, the legendary British radio personality who fell in love with her music. Peel, who died in October, called Cantrell's 2000 debut album "Not the Tremblin' Kind," "my favourite record of the last ten years, and possibly my life."
That she's more popular in England than the U.S. seems to fit her particular approach to the genre.
"They might have Alison Moorer or Shelby Lynne as the star (of a program)," says Cantrell, noting there are no strictly country radio stations in the United Kingdom. "Someone like Faith Hill might get one play. Sensibilities are different, and the definitions of what's country and what's not are different. It's more likely that something further from what we think of as commercial, the Hansen Family and Lambchop, these things get put under the banner of American roots-related music."
That's where Cantrell seems to fit best. Her latest release, "Humming by the Flowered Vine" features songs that border on neo-folk -- the lovely, lilting opening track, "14th Street" -- and "Old Downtown," an extended, mid-tempo tune that recalls the work of Robert Earl Keen or perhaps the Flatlanders in its panoramic storytelling.
Though Cantrell's work seems to fit a variety of genres, she leaves little doubt as to which camp she thinks she belongs.
"My own definition of country music is very broad," she says. "It contains a lot of different kinds of music, or influences that aren't just one region of the United States or one era of music. It can sound different at different times. I think that's complicated when you're trying to dumb down your presentation of it into what is maybe commercially acceptable. I actually don't think people need as much spoon-feeding as the way companies market and present it. I think calling what I do country music and not having any explanation of it might confuse people who are not adventurous or interested, but I think for the people who are interested, it makes a lot of sense."
Regis Behe can be reached at rbehe@tribweb.com or (412)320-7990.