Carrie Rodriguez, from Austin, Texas, is a competition-quality
fiddler who recorded several collaborative albums with troubadour Chip
Taylor before striking out on a solo career as a singer-songwriter
specializing in edgy alt-country.
Her new CD, a fierce and artful live set, was actually created
between the releases of her two studio albums—Seven Angels on
a Bicycle (2006) and She Ain’t Me (2008). It’s a complete,
12-song set that Rodriguez and her band played during a 2007 tour
opening for Lucinda Williams. Released a couple of weeks ago, the album
is available primarily at Rodriguez’s Web site (www.carrierodriguez.com) and at
gigs.
Live in Louisville is marked by Rodriguez’ impassioned
delivery and the explosive performance of her band, for which she plays
both fiddle and electric mandolin.
The mood is shivery film-noir country with Rodriguez and company
composing the music’s shapes and colors in a precise, painterly
fashion, such as on “I Don’t Want to Play House Anymore” and “You Won’t
Be Satisfied That Way.” Some listeners may be reminded of Williams and
Patty Griffin.
Many of the tunes build to muscular, rock ‘n’ roll climaxes upon
which are balanced melody and dissonance to give a sense of emotional
release. The cinematic scope of “Mask of Moses” and the overly sexual
“50’s French Movie” will have some listeners thinking Nickel Creek has
melted into Sonic Youth.
This article appears in May 7-13, 2009.