Annie Gallup remembers what too many singer/songwriters forget: to be sonically engaging. This means that cool backbeats and heavy basslines keep one's songs from fading into a background of sameness. Even on a song like "Blue Dress," which may seem a little more typical with its sad violins and sadder lyric, Gallup's incessant delivery, overrunning her verse lines or trying to cram too many words in a line, isn't ordinary. "100 Miles From Music City" pushes a bit further. There's a melody of sorts, but mostly it's words and more words spoken against a backdrop of steel guitar. Call it beat street poetry or folk-rap. The stripped arrangement of "A Million Ways" lays Gallup's word-rap even more bare, letting a conversation between two people take front and center. Even without reading her lyrics, the texture and delivery are stimulating. Reading the lyrics, one will be equally intrigued. Her details of speech and city landscapes remind one of a latter-day Walt Whitman, as she reports on the world around her with a torrent of words and images. Courage My Love and her follow-up album, Swerve, provide excellent introductions to Gallup's art. While nothing is wrong with her earlier recordings, she seems to have found her voice on these two albums. Her atypical approach to folk/Americana offers a fresh break from your garden-variety singer/songwriter.
© Ronnie D. Lankford Jr. /TiVo