A singer/songwriter raised in Spicewood, Texas, near Austin,
Katy Kirby began working on her first album as a college student in Nashville. Several years in the making and recorded partly in Nashville and partly in her hometown, the nine-track
Cool Dry Place sets insightful vignettes against a balance of spare and mostly crisp, playful arrangements performed by over a half-dozen contributors. One of the more textured tracks, "Traffic!" opens with syncopated electric guitar, bass, and soft, steady bass drum under
Kirby's warm, lucid vocals. The song becomes more off-balance, occasionally dropping in vocal effects and light guitar distortion, alongside a loping melody and additional groove-based syncopation as the singer deconstructs a partner's privilege ("So fundamentally toxic....You get off easy every time"). At one point, overdriven guitar clashes with a synthesized church organ and choir; the rock combo eventually overpowers the rest. With a sharp focus on vocal lines throughout, likewise buoyant offerings include the lightly lopsided "Peppermint" and gardening metaphor "Juniper," while among the album's bittersweet ballads are the hushed "Portals" ("I'm an alternate universe in Target lingerie/You're a country song in three-four time") and the title track. The comfort-seeking "Cool Dry Place" begins as a tender, head-swaying tune before crescendoing into a swirl of feedback, distortion, and sound effects held together by an arpeggiated synth line. Throughout, the star of the debut remains
Kirby's inviting voice and hummable melodies, and, at less than 30 minutes,
Cool Dry Place will leave many fans of the singer/songwriter tradition eager for more. ~ Marcy Donelson