Singer/songwriter Kerri Lowe is a promising young talent in the Americana scene, one with a gift for reinterpreting diary passages into catchy folk songs.
On her debut EP, Move Free, Lowe's storytelling has an autobiographical perspective, and instead of hiding her emotions in ironic wordplay or consciously vague poetry she lets them bleed. Nowhere is this more evident than on “Please Don't Take Me to Kentucky." Set to a spare acoustic guitar, Lowe's fragile voice details how she discovered the truth about her absentee father; told by her mother that he was simply working out of state, she eventually finds out that he's actually in the slammer. Lowe's youthful voice captures the pain of a little girl separated from her poppa by a jail cell. Lowe's southern accent deepens the song's country flavor but this is definitely not an example of the contemporary Nashville sound. There's absolutely no studio slickness here, and no happy ending in the lyrics, either. “It's not a place I want to talk about," she concludes, her vocals brimming with a melancholic ache.
The subtle prettiness of these songs is something that, should Lowe later find commercial success, will probably shed as larger budgets and high-profile producers begin to tweak her material, especially in the country-music industry. So it's best to appreciate them now, soak in their warmth and lo-fi charm. Lowe is a North Carolina native who packed her bags for New York, and “Dust Still on My Boots" finds her retaining her sense of identity. In other words, she isn't changing who she is; despite the new Big City zip code her southeastern roots will not be tossed aside.
It's not too often that an artist can be found with such a strong set of material on their initial at-bat. However, Lowe is a rare exception. Her narratives have a natural flow to them; she writes compelling stories overall even if the others aren't as startling as “Please Don't Take Me to Kentucky." Much of the EP is fairly quiet although “Good Luck and Goodbye" features some of her most spikiest guitar playing.
On her debut EP, Move Free, Lowe's storytelling has an autobiographical perspective, and instead of hiding her emotions in ironic wordplay or consciously vague poetry she lets them bleed. Nowhere is this more evident than on “Please Don't Take Me to Kentucky." Set to a spare acoustic guitar, Lowe's fragile voice details how she discovered the truth about her absentee father; told by her mother that he was simply working out of state, she eventually finds out that he's actually in the slammer. Lowe's youthful voice captures the pain of a little girl separated from her poppa by a jail cell. Lowe's southern accent deepens the song's country flavor but this is definitely not an example of the contemporary Nashville sound. There's absolutely no studio slickness here, and no happy ending in the lyrics, either. “It's not a place I want to talk about," she concludes, her vocals brimming with a melancholic ache.
The subtle prettiness of these songs is something that, should Lowe later find commercial success, will probably shed as larger budgets and high-profile producers begin to tweak her material, especially in the country-music industry. So it's best to appreciate them now, soak in their warmth and lo-fi charm. Lowe is a North Carolina native who packed her bags for New York, and “Dust Still on My Boots" finds her retaining her sense of identity. In other words, she isn't changing who she is; despite the new Big City zip code her southeastern roots will not be tossed aside.
It's not too often that an artist can be found with such a strong set of material on their initial at-bat. However, Lowe is a rare exception. Her narratives have a natural flow to them; she writes compelling stories overall even if the others aren't as startling as “Please Don't Take Me to Kentucky." Much of the EP is fairly quiet although “Good Luck and Goodbye" features some of her most spikiest guitar playing.
