Rating:   10 Ratings     12345  

Erin McKeown We Will Become Like Birds Nettwerk Records

      Dutiful, shoegazing vocals are presented in each and every track. There’s just enough femininity given in We Will Become Like Birds (Nettwerk, 2005) to this music world that is sometimes perceived to be gentler towards men.

      Acoustically upbeat, and just a few beats faster than to be called folk music, these tracks place the Fredricksburg, Virginia artist somewhere in the middle.

      This all started ten years ago, in which she was a semi-finalist for a songwriting contest, proving she had been slowly working towards her goal. She then began her own label, called TVP Records, and released three albums previous to Birds: Distillation (Signature Records, 2000), Monday Morning Cold (TVP Records, 2001), and Grand (Nettwerk, 2003). She is also included on the Voices on The Verge album, Live In Philadelphia (Rykodisc, 2001), teaming up with Rose Polenzani, Jess Klein, and Beth Amsel. McKeown has also recently received her degree in ethnomusicology from Brown University.

      Having taken many musical matters into her own hands has shaped McKeown into who she is now, and it shows throughout her latest release. In its own right, her music is unique, but contains bits and pieces of influential tones from many other achieved solo women, so even at a new listen, McKeown sounds strangely familiar. There’s also a drowning, melancholy Rilo Kiley feel to some of her approaches on the tracks as well, making the album all the more colourful.

      Notable tunes include album opener "Aspera," "To The Stars" and "Delicate December," featuring Peter Mulvey, to add deeper, seasoned backing vocals.

      Tori Amos, Joni Mitchell, Sinead O’Connor, Sarah McLachlan: all women who managed to make it on their own. Let’s hope to see McKeown be added to that list along with countless unmentioned others. Entrancing and inviting enough to become a household name.

-Arie Musil 06/30/05