Jaw-droppingly good folky singer/songwriter stuff with beautifully devastating lyrics. Simple female vocals express the most emotion I’ve ever heard conveyed in a monotone. The songs are dominated by mostly acoustic (but occasionally electric) guitars, but also include drums, a random assortment of odd percussion, and occasional strings, piano and brass. The music is well-crafted and well-performed, but the lyrics are the real prize. Funny, narrative, and moving, many of the songs are written in the voice of a troubled child. Like Leonard Cohen but with a sense of humor, or like Joanna Newsom but with death and child abuse. I want to listen to this album over and over. I especially liked: 2, 4, 6. FCC’s: 3, 9, 10(?), 12(?)

Track 1: Pleasant, upbeat, and folksy. Childlike lyrics about dealing with death.
Track 2: ***Thicker-textured guitars, nice multitracked descant in background. Lyrics consist of practical advice for dealing with the apocalypse. “I looked it the mirror and I was on fire /Somebody yelled out ‘Hey, stop drop and roll!’ / I said ‘That might save my skin but it won’t save my soul’”
Track 3: FCC ‘s:“free to go fucking crazy” “drawing cocks” near the end. Rockabilly drums.
Track 4: ***Folky guitars like the sort you might have sung along to in elementary school. Great childish lyrics about a broken family. A sample: “and now there's a mountain goat / precariously balanced on the frog stuck in my throat / it says ‘sometimes whispering's okay, / but maybe you'd feel better if you screamed today’" As the title promises, it ends with a repetition of the tune “Hush, Little Baby,” with new lyrics.
Track 5: ***Troubador-eqsue minor tune. Elegiac multi-voiced choruses, slightly harsh, shouted single female vocals in the verses. Lyrics about the cruelty of children and the suicide of parents. Fateful drums and ominous swelling strings. With bells on top.
Track 6: ***Quick, nearly spoken vocals, sprightly strummed folksy acoustic guitar. Awesome distorted backgrounds vocals meander around in the background in the middle. Lyrics are alternately funny: “and bruno said what anders said some producer said to young lennon / ‘they can't all be ballads julian’" and touching:
“open up your eyes and see the beauty over there
open up your ears and be surprised by what you hear
'cause it's not just on the radio, it's not just on the video
it isn't all downloadable, there's music everywhere”
Track 7: **Vaguely western-sounding, with whistling. Multi-tracked voices in choruses. Lyrics about child- and spousal abuse, with surreal ending about ballet.
Track 8: Happy 70’s-era Sesame Street style pop, with cheerful electric guitar. Sing-songy vocals.
Track 9: FCC’s: “off with their balls,” “having been fucked is no excuse for being fucked up.” Soothing acoustic guitar strumming chords, tambourine, and some odd bellish percussion.
Track 10: Possible FCC: “life used to be so shitty,” “inside out and lost his ass.” Urban hoedown, with brass, whistles, and crowd noises. Awesome lyrics about a twisted New York utopia.
Track 11: *Flamenco style acoustic guitar, wistful lyrics about choosing a specific life.
Track 12: Possible FCC’s: “kick your ass.” “I don’t breathe that shit in.” Starts with shouted male chanting, with meditative acoustic guitar fading in. Growly electric guitar and elegiac rock drums take over. Hoarse male backing vocals. Lyrics are a non-dogmatic personal meditation on September 11. 1980’s hair band guitar solo.
Track 13: Whistling, bittersweet piano melody and bass. Boringly sweet love song.
Track 14: **Languorous drums, distant-sounding vocals. Fairy-taleish fantasy about drowning.

-Kathryn