Carolyn Currie

John Hammel: Home Grown Radio NJ (www.homegrownradionj.com)

The Album is beautifully nuanced both lyrically and musically.  I like the focus and commitment of the vocal delivery; (the) softly warm intimacy.  This allows the listener to be seduced into (the) vision(s) of human relationships and interactions and draws one in subtly rather than being held at arm's length. The songs seem like they could be part and parcel of each other but they also stand on their own and are imbued with insightfulness into the coursing of the heart in all its myriad manifestations. There are lovely musical and emotional shading in (the) poetic images of love and loss, escape and redemption and most especially the complexity that lies at the core of our existence. 

Musically all the players contributions are exemplary.  There isn’t a wasted or egoistic note.  Instead each player seems to intuitively shape the musical foundations of each song just the right emotional weight and veracity.  I loved the architecture of the string playing and the way the percussion led some of the songs and complimented the story line, particularly on Darkness. Other stand-out tracks for me were the richly metaphorical Echolocation, and Heart Like A Rose. My favorite line though was in February Morning “…..eyes would track me hungry as I moved…”  I was intrigued that the word chosen was track rather than follow and what that meant in the dynamics of the relationship.   Old Song for some reason struck me in the same manner that many John Prine songs do with his sharply focused observational genius in dissecting the human condition.   

All in all a gorgeously beautiful album and I think I will feature it on my radio program this Sunday.
 

By Hobert Taylor: KUCI.org 88.9 FM 

From Maine comes this skillful songwriter who delivers her songs with precision.  The ballads, "Safe in the Eyes of the Moon" and "Heart Like a Rose are stand-outs, but really remarkable is her real life documentary of the soul of a grown woman who has it all and sees that it doesn't even come close enough to satisfying her, "February Morning".
 

Roberta B. Schwartz: Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange (rschwart@bowdoin.edu)

Carolyn Currie's music is a gift.  She writes and sings her songs from the heart.  She sings in the voice of what you might think an angel would sound like: ethereal, haunting and lovely all at once.  Her concerns are our concerns: the ups and downs of life, the beauty of the natural world, the things she observes around her as she moves from day to day.

Echolocation is Currie's fifth recording.  The project took her down to Nashville, where it was produced by Celeste Krenz, an established country singer/songwriter and producer.  The response from the music establishment has been swift. Currie won the 2014 Wildflower Songwriting Competition, and was chosen to compete at the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival Competition this past August, where she was awarded second place.  I have stated it before and I will do it again: Carolyn Currie is something special

Sleepwalking Home is the first cut on the new CD, and it is a thing of beauty. Backed by sounds as disparate as electric guitar and an Irish flute, along with acoustic guitar and strings, the song hints at a loved one who is gone, but not forgotten, haunting the singer's waking and sleeping hours:
And all that I can do is wait forever
And all that I can hold now are these tears
And all that I remember is you loved me
And all that I am left with are these years

Red Light Green Light is a paean to the beauty of a summer's night, and trying to capture a moment in time.  References are made to children growing up too quickly, a mother's love gone too soon, and the swiftness of time.  There is a wonderful backing vocal by Michael Kelsh, creating a nice harmony with Currie's inimitable soprano.  
Dazzling and mysterious Heart Like a Rose speaks of two lovers coming together with their separate pasts and separate stories.  The song is quiet and lovely, with Currie's sweet vocal and poetic lyrics at the center.  The notes are finger picked on guitar and softly played out on keyboards.  It will stick in your memory.  

Drunkenness and physical abuse are at the heart of the story told by Red Hawk Rising.  This is a cautionary tale about those who can and those who cannot fight back in the face of this kind of ongoing terror.  The red hawk symbolizes those who can rise above and lash back at their oppressor.  Currie pounds out the beat on her acoustic guitar, with Mike Payne's electric guitar picking up the rhythm as the lyrics spell out the story.  Ken Lewis on percussion kicks in as the tune comes to a crashing conclusion: "and the red hawk's rising on the back on the sky/ and she's circling with an answer and I finally understand that you can die."

The recording closes with a very pretty tune called Old Song, which is filled with images and memories from the past: summer nigths, band concerts with local boys playing, cotton candy, the swaying porch swings and banging of screen doors. There is a wonderful backing vocal here provided by producer Celeste Krenz, which creates an almost heavenly chorus of voices.

In Echolocation, Carolyn Currie's voice rises above all the other CD releases of the summer.  In a lovely, sweet and distinctive voice all of her own, she spins stories of the passage of time, where yearning memories lie.  But not all is calm in that life moves us forward, people we love die and leave us, children grow up, relationships change, and life sometimes becomes filled with danger.  But the memories of warm summer nights, the loved ones who stay with us, and the old songs continue to play as we create new ones.

In answer to the proverbial question of what music would you take with you on the deserted island in the ocean, I can't think of anyone who would top that list more than the music of Carolyn Currie.  There is always more to discover inside her lyrics and in the haunting, ethereal quality of her voice. It is so beautiful, you get lost in it in a way that you do not want to be found.  Echolocation builds on her vocal and lyrical talents.  I hope that these words introduce more people to her music.  There is something special going on here, and her name is Carolyn Currie.

Edited by: David N. Pyle (dnpyles@acousticmusic.com)
Copyright 2014, Peterborough Folk Music Society and Roberta B. Schwartz
This review may be reprinted with prior permission and attribution.