Paradise Hotel
Warm reflections, strong convictions, and spiritual grace inform the veteran Texas-based troubadour Eliza Gilkyson's latest,Paradise Hotel. Offerings are even more eclectic than usual, with the Spanish-sung border balladry of "Bellarosa," a surprise cover ofWorld Party's "Is It Like Today," and the hymn-like original "Requiem" extending Gilkyson's interpretive range. She sticks closer to straightforward country on "Calm Before the Storm" (with vocal harmony fromShawn Colvin) and the album-opening "Borderline," while returning to her folk roots on "Jedidiah 1777" and the title track (though the latter finds her humming a coda that evokes Bach orProcol Harum, depending on the listener's frame of reference). The album's most powerful track, "Man of God," represents Gilkyson's strongest political statement to date, an indictment of religious hypocrisy that uses Christianity to justify war, with Colvin,Marcia Ball,Slaid Cleaves, andRay Wylie Hubbardamong those offering chorus support.--Don McLeese