Search - Po' Girl :: Po' Girl

Taking it to the Limit

Dainon J. Moody | Salt Lake City, Utah United States | 09/28/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Give Po'Girl a listen and before you've reached the middle of "Gone in Pawn (Shake Sugaree)", you realize you know this voice. Allison Russell, the half who is the triple threat combo of clarinet, pennywhistle and vocals, is a Natalie Merchant, an Alana Davis-even a smoky Norah Jones-all rolled into one lavish package. She's some kind of human Swiss Army knife of her own design for sure, wearing influences so thick in her nuances alone, she'll hardly get the appropriate names out her mouth before you end up hearing them yourself. Combine her talents with the Be Good Tanyas' Trish Klein (vocals, geet, banjo, harp) and collectively they're some kind of new folkie Indigo Girls persuasion. While the latter girl duo may write the songs you can sing warming yourself by the mountain campfire, Po'Girl goes good with the laziness most often associated with the sentimentality of summer. And, when not standing up to their fullest heights with their Street Poet hats atop their heads, they're the ones slouching on the sidewalk just outside the best coffee shop in town, providing a soundtrack for the sipping urban beatniks. For inst, they sound much too lovely to make a believable case of the battered wife in "What Sad Old Song?", but when they're singing about repeatedly jumping right out of their skin ("Malaise Days"), it seems rather appropriate. Right down to the part of the tune where they're expressing all kinds of slacker angst on seeing a bad band, referring to them as "imitation cowpokes" out of Nashville. Po'Girl end up playing the angry card, but we know they don't really care all that much. And we like that they don't care. We hate the band they hate, too, but we're too distracted by the relaxed vibe they've sustained to allow us out of the smiling happy stupor for very long. And if rhythm & blues is able to attach the neo-soul genre to it, however loosely, country & western should, at the very least, have a name for the branch of gutsier, more honest country-pop hybrid that's being so skillfully created. Uncle Tupelo got the jumpstart on creating alt.country, sure, but they had the appropriate blend of twang and rawk to be considered the pioneers of the term. What we need is a brand of neo-western to call our own. Now, to pigeonhole Po'Girl into country would be more than a little absurd; they flirt with the folk, gospel, blues and old-time jazz variety of things, just because they can. And, to take it further, a band covering Tom Waits' "Ice Cream Man" midway through one of its own tunes, while appealing to the hipsters in the room, may not allow it to pass the neo-western grade.But if qualifications rest around stripping themselves of the glam so often associated with the 800 lb. gorilla of, say, Dolly Parton in a new wig and enough Revlon to make Tammy Faye jealous, they might consider themselves forerunners. Their banjo sounds quite perfect when the picking begins in on "Shameless" (as does, let's be honest, the entire song-thanks to Jesse Zubot and Jesse's fiddle). And trying their damnedest to make the jumble of sad songs reflect the fact that, on an especially bad day, they might actually reflect their melancholy prose should they try really, really hard, they're nearly there. Bonus points for tackling the hidden standard "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?" and for even pulling it off fairly well."

Po' Girl--Truly Alternative Music

Dana Rothschild | Georgia | 08/02/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In the wasteland that is crappy mainstream music, Po' Girl is a wonderful oasis. I came to Po' Girl for Trish Klein (of The Be Good Tanyas) and I stayed for Allison Russell. If you want heartless lyrics and over-produced pop music, then don't buy this album. However, if you seek a creative mixture of folk, jazz, bluegrass, and blues, then this first album by Po' Girl is for you."

Simple Wonder

Woodtick Rick | Minnesota | 07/31/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"An uncomplicated work of art. To say this CD is lovely would understate the way it will ooze in and make you feel fine. Absence of too much lead guitar is a pleasure. Voice and accoustic instruments meld togther in a way that relaxes and mesmerizes that moment. A slow, elegant flavor of the deep South runs through the tracks."