[rating=4.00]
With her latest album, Another Kind of Fire, Edie Carey has created another completely listenable, imminently catchy album. Released in September, this is the perfect album for autumn: reflective, a bit overcast (but not so much as to be depressing), and, like the gorgeous dying leaves, completely enjoyable.
Currently on (a seemingly endless) tour, Carey is a wonderful blend of musical styles and lyric as well as harmonic proficiency, and Another Kind of Fire is no exception. Her music, while often – and easily – pigeonholed as “folk,” is adventurous enough to competently draw in people not normally attracted to “folk,” yet complex enough that it does not bore, even after multiple listenings. As always, Carey’s lyrics shine through, though never so much as to overshadow the often-gorgeous melodies and instrumentation underneath. The album is impressively polished, though never over-produced, with solid instrumentation supporting her beautiful voice throughout the work.
Carey has toured with many luminaries of contemporary music, including Norah Jones and Ani DiFranco, yet has somehow retained the aura of the hard-workin’, small-venue playin’ folkie, “someone just like you.” Indeed, this reviewer recently had the good fortune to see her play in a venue seating perhaps 100, a show at which Carey repeatedly demonstrated a laudable openness. This album deserves to be held up as one of the exemplary works of 2006. However, may any critical acclaim not change the humbleness and ability to connect in an intimate setting that glow throughout the album; despite the power of her songwriting, her accessibility may be one of Carey’s best attributes.
