Voices on the Verge are
Erin McKeown,
Jess Klein, Beth Amsel, and
Rose Polanzani, four young folk-pop singer/songwriters who work collaboratively while maintaining their solo careers.
Live in Philadelphia, their first collaborative album, was recorded live in front of a small audience in a recording studio. The simple instrumentation is a combination of acoustic and electric guitars, with occasional piano (by
Polenzani), clarinet (by
Klein), and djembe (a small African percussion instrument, played by
McKeown) adding texture. Each singer does three of her own songs. All four are very good singers, but they're a mixed bag as songwriters.
McKeown, whose solo debut,
Distillation, was one of 2000s great under-heard gems, is a terrific songwriter, and her three songs are by far the best on the disc. The sly Delta blues "Blackbirds," the jazzy "Didn't They" (which features some terrific clarinet by
Klein), and the haunting "Softly Moses" (which, unlike the other two, is not on
Distillation) are all great, and the Virginia-born
McKeown has the most soulful and distinctive vocal style of the four. The other end of the spectrum belongs to
Polanzani, whose songs are low-key.
Klein and Amsel are in the middle, and their styles are so similar that it can be hard to tell who wrote which song without looking at the credits. Both are quite nice in a
Dar Williams sort of way, but they lack
McKeown's individuality. ~ Stewart Mason