Tift Merritt - Another Country
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Free Music Notes for Another Country
Free Music Review: Tift's latest
Hit: 5 Stars
Rather than on single track, I have always put emphasis on the entire album in evaluating an artist's style and Tift's long awaited "France" album is the furthest from disappointing I have heard in a long time!!!
She has put her heart into this and it shows big time!!
There is not one dud track in this - nothing you would skip over!! Each track equally valuable and the title track especially evocative!
I am so looking forward to seeing her when her tour comes to the UK later this year
Free Music Review: COMFORTING, GRACIOUS AND BEAUTIFUL
Hit: 4 Stars
If ever there were a convention of performing artists, Tift Merritt would probably spend the evening helping to serve the food, then staying afterward to help with the clean-up. There is something unfailingly polite about her style, so much so that she is an anomaly in an industry full of misogynists, hedonists, crybabies and creeps. "Another Country" captures that niceness with a series of songs that are unfailingly gracious in their gentle use of melodicism. It is extraordinarily comforting to hear an album as well-adjusted as "Another Country," but that can also be part of the problem. In real life, it is the troublemakers who attract all of the attention, and it is no different in the music industry. Disaffected misfits with bad attitudes and re-hab issues get the press and top the charts, and it is difficult to hear Tift Merritt above the din of whining screamers in need of medication, therapy, or both.
"Another Country" is the result of an artist burned out from too much touring. In the liner notes, Tift (I think she would find it distasteful if I used her formal name) writes that she "had lost track of the miles (she) had traveled." To break her stride, she spent some time in Paris, familiarizing herself with a new culture and a new group of friends. The experience liberated her, and inspired her to new heights of creativity. This is an album full of personal observations from lessons learned, with intimate arrangements that focus on the strengths of her touring band, augmented by guitarists Doug Pettibone and Charlie Sexton. As a collection, the songs fit like a well-worn sweater. It is the aural equivalent of a woman finding a sense of comfort in the life she has chosen for herself.
Most parents know that necessity dictates them to spend most of their time and effort working with the `problem' child, while the well-adjusted sibling gets overlooked. It may take some time for you to come around to listening to Tift Merritt's new album, but when you do, it will wrap you with a sense of comfort and relief, and it will probably make you smile. B+ Tom Ryan
Free Music Review: Big Step Forward
Hit: 5 Stars
I'll start off this review by saying that I'm a longtime fan of Tift's music, ever since her 2002 debut "Bramble Rose." It was obvious from that album that she had an amazing gift in her voice--a beautiful, expressive, and natural instrument, reminiscent of great singers like Emmylou Harris, Dusty Springfield, and Lucinda Williams; and, while occasionally musically derivative, she showed great capability and even greater potential as a songwriter. Her next album, 2004's "Tambourine" found Tift broadening her horizons as a musician. In addition to the breezy country rock of her first album, she dabbled in 60's soul, Springsteen-esque electric rock, and even gospel music.
As much as I enjoyed her first two albums, there was always something slightly superficial and forced about them. I always got the feeling that Merritt was out more to impress critics than to really make the kind of music that reaches out and connects with people. Now, maybe that's a bit harsh, but one thing is certain--"Another Country" is anything but superficial and forced. Tift floats gently from genre to genre, usually ending up somewhere in the middle with a sound you can't quite put your finger on. Additionally, at a lean eleven, this is probably her strongest set of songs yet. Hidden behind such mundane titles as "Broken," "I Know What I'm Looking For Now," "Tell Me Something True," and "Keep You Happy" are songs that are beautiful and tender, natural and understated. Producer George Drakoulis gives the record a warm, lush sound, with a variety of instruments creating a tapestry of sound that frames but never overpowers Tift's gorgeous voice. Speaking of Tift's voice, it sounds better here than it ever has. Her voice sounds older, slightly worn, yet at the same time she has never sounded more confident in her abilities as a vocalist. One listen to the Joni Mitchell-esque "Keep You Happy" and you can hear how far Tift has come since "Bramble Rose."
"Another Country" finds Tift coming into her own as both a songwriter and a vocalist, graduating from "artist to watch" to "artist to actually listen to."
Free Music Review: Tift + Paris = Country Elegance
Hit: 5 Stars
Another Country is a really satisfying collection of songs, the mood is reflective and there is a lot of nuance and subtlety to the instrumentation, and the quality of the songs really shines. I think Doug Pettibone who guests here also plays with Lucinda Williams? Well it really works. Tift's voice is just...heavenly. Free Music Review: A sleepy-eyed country album. Good but not great.
Hit: 3 Stars
First off, I must say I love Tift Merritt's music. I have her other two studio albums and her live CD, and I think she is amazingly talented. (Catch one of her concerts if you can.) But I find this CD to be way too mellow. With only two uptempo numbers, the album isn't bad at all -- just slow. Tift's voice is, of course, gorgeous throughout. And all the musicians range from capable to stellar, but the whole album sort of blends together without many highs going on. This CD probably should have been called "Just Another Country Album."
"Broken" and "Another Country" are probably the two most accessible songs here. And I wish more of the songs on the album were on their level. Again, this CD isn't bad, just nothing special. If you are just getting into Tift, pick up "Tamourine." That's her finest record so far. But even her debut is better than this new one.