Think of Ali McGraw playing a put upon waitress at a truckstop outside Spokane who occasionally gets up on stage and belts out a few numbers – that’s the image I have (you can update it with Sandra Bullock if you like). Singing songs like ‘Why Don’t He Love Me?’ holding out for Steve McQueen (think Matt Damon and the whole thing starts to fall apart), knowing all the time she’ll have to settle for her childhood sweetheart Ryan O’Neill (Dawson from the creek).
Her vocals are waitress like too, delivering the lyrics from the kitchen to your table efficiently – not silver service but proficient, you pay the price; you get chequered tablecloths, banter, competence – she won’t take nonsense from just anyone: “Roll Me On’ shows this. The job isn’t easy – ‘Dark Night of the Soul’ tells the Hopper story of people passing through lives.
The songs have a fair amount of twang, kind of like Jesse Sykes, the same kind of darkness hanging around, shown to good effect on ’1974′. The home-town feel continues throughout, her mother providing backing vocals and ‘Cheatin Mind’ is the perfect soundtrack to a girl’s night out – when they get home, alone, play ‘Night after Night’. Just the thing to chase down the last glass of wine, turn out the light and curl up with the sultry tender ‘Lovin You’ – it’s not been such a bad night after all.”
David Cowling, Americana UK, Feb 2007
