Nashville-based singer/songwriter Marie McGilvray initially gave up music to work as an occupational therapist, but even having returned to her first vocation, she remains something of a caregiver on her debut EP, Big Love, which contains seven songs and runs half an hour. McGilvray is, in a sense, optimistic and positive in her lyrical viewpoint, particularly on the title song, a declaration of perfectly realized romance. But there is darkness around the edges; the songwriter is asserting hope against despair and even death. "Bicksford Station," the leadoff track, is sung in the voice of a woman who still waits for a train to bring back her lover from the war, even though decades have passed. In "Calm," the singer offers comfort to a friend who has suffered the death of a child. In keeping with such subject matter, McGilvray sings in an ethereal, somewhat solemn style, not expressing too much emotion that must disrupt the fragile progress being made. Producer/bassist Ron Gomez creates folk-pop arrangements that support the somewhat chastened tone of the songs' lyrics, as well. Marie McGilvray may have gone back to being a musician, but she is still offering therapy through her art.
© William Ruhlmann /TiVo