Even after all this time, people still give a funny look when they hear the word Americana.
What does it mean? Americana is pretty much a catchall term for anyone who plays music that sounds like old-time country music, but doesn't exactly look like an old-time country music type person.
But Albuquerque's Edith Grove doesn't run from the Americana tag. They embrace it. And they definitely don't look the part of old-time country musicos, but they sure play it.
The slogan on the back of the quintet's debut CD, cravin love for blazin' speed, pretty much says it all - it's "Americana Music to take you down the back roads" like it says on the dust jacket.
The 12 songs on this disc are just that, perfect music for the open road. They have the yearning and melancholy reminiscent of early country and western.
Guitarist/vocalist Amanda Kooser sets the stage ably with her insistent strumming and her mellow alto. Cello player/vocalist Suzanne Shelton and violin player/vocalist Lesley Judd add the unique flavoring the band enjoys, both with their non-traditional string instruments and with their vocals.
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The duo's vocals are more than simple adornment. On songs like "Your '63 L incoln" and "Clean Living," the two turn fairly simple arrangements into some tasty listening.
Electric guitarist/blues harp player Richard Malcolm and percussionist Regina Chavez round out the band with flair and precision.
As a songwriter, Kooser captures the feeling of longing and desire that accompany relationships of all kinds - not only those between people but also between people and their surroundings.
Her songs go from modern interpretations of blues, to neo-country to straight-up hootenanny music that wouldn't be out of place at a hoe down - though her lyrics are a tad more poetic than anything you might've heard while dancing on sawdust.
If there's one fault to any of the music on Edith Groves's CD, it's that the guitar strumming tends to be a bit two-dimensional. The same percussive strum pervades many of the songs. At times, it's a little too high in the mix, taking away from the interplay existing between guitar, cello and violin. All in all though, that's minor.
Overall, Edith Grove manages to strike a chord musically that is as distinct as Judd's dyed-red hair or Kooser's own spiky 'do.
Cravin' love for blazin' speed is an impressive debut. Its tight songwriting and sound - and flawless packaging - indicate that Edith Grove is the kind of group you may see soaring beyond the confines of the Albuquerque music scene.
