Getting Somewhere
Marriage to Steve Earle (who produced this album) seems to have inspired the musical emancipation of Allison Moorer. Whereas her earliest releases seemed to balance commercial country potential with alt-country attitude, her sixth album achieves a different sort of balance--between fuzztone guitars (which variously recall garage bands, grunge, and Neil Young's work with Crazy Horse) and Beatlesque melodies, hooks, and harmonies. The music would be hard to classify as country, but is difficult to resist. Rather than extending the tradition of Patsy Cline or Dolly Parton, the ebullient propulsion of the opening "Work to Do" and "Fairweather" reminds one more of the Go-Go's and the Bangles. Following the chamber strings and double-tracked vocals that enhance "Where You Are," the intro to "Take It So Hard" pays homage to "Wild Thing," rock at its most primitive. For all of the music's surface catchiness, the writing is some of Moorer's deepest to date, from the bittersweet yearning of "You'll Never Know" and introspective balladry and spiritual refrain of "Hallelujah" to the closing title track's folkish prayer of perseverance. While her soulful singing and Southern accent remain undiminished, the results sound less like a musical progression for Moorer than a fresh start.--Don McLeese