A more earthy folk-pop alternative to Jewel,
Tammy Patrick has created an excellent song cycle, rife with homeward-looking musical snapshots of rural life. Having written or co-written ten of the 12 songs here,
Patrick employs a wide array of instruments and musicians to reveal the many facets of her sound. "Coming Home," with a ridiculously catchy chorus, and the aching "Crashing Down on Me" show a tunefulness not often found among the Lilith Fair school of songwriters. Occasional forays into a classic easy-going country-rock sound, with the nice pedal steel of "Billy West" and the lighthearted banjo and accordion-laden "Shovel Birds," which utilizes a somewhat Appalachian folk vibe almost akin to
Alison Krauss, are similarly solid. The classic gospel tune "This Old House" revisits a similar feel.
Patrick proves herself quite adept at recasting traditional folk styles, with the singsongy "Tonight" having the sound of a classic children's folk ballad, just as the rollicking "Whiskey" has the feel of a long-lost Irish drinking song. Unexpected ventures in simmering jazzy balladry like "Blue Again" and the smooth swinging "No Place ('78 Monte Carlo Blues)" go even further to show how varied
Patrick's talents are. Overall, it's the fresh, spontaneous feel and genuine Americana spirit of The White Album that makes it work on so many levels. In the end, it would be hard to ask for a much better crafted or more listenable debut effort. ~ Matt Fink