The Pulse of the Twin Cities
It's not the big things that drive us into the madhouse, it's the small things; a broken shoelace, a burnt out porch light, a broken promise. Wars, hurricanes, earthquakes-these thing mobilize us into action. We cannot hold that pace for long, however, and it's often the little things that help sustain us for the long haul. These are the details that can keep each of us from collapse. That's where Lisa Kane's music comes from. It's music that observes and records the struggles of every-day life.
Kane went with a full band sound (tight arrangements, fiddle, keys, electric guitar) on her self-released debut, Old Strings & All. With glossy production, as well as a solid backbone of bass and drums, Kane plays it closer to the vest on this project. She put in a significant amount of playing her one-woman shows, either at coffee bars or the festivals she travels to. It seems natural that on the new record she opted for an organic, stripped-down sound. And so the self-released Sooner ... Than Later is simply guitar and voice.
"For me, this album is sustaining. It was what I really wanted to do. I didn't feel I needed to add anything to make it better," Kane explains. "There might be one word, or my voice cracked. In a way, as a perfectionist, I wanted to [change it]. As an artist, I'm happy with the work.
Kane plans to keep this a low-pressure project. The record will be available at shows directly from her. With everything on a basic level, Kane will get to spend more time as an artist and less time tracking down receipts. "I want to be a musician with this one, not an accountant," she says.
Sooner..Then Later makes her earlier efforts sound almost pretentious. Where Old Strings has a full spectrum of sound, Sooner.. has an intense sound without added instrumentation. With Sooner... Kane displays confidence, and shows she has a love for words that alternates between lyrical infectiousness, iconoclasm, loquaciousness and tunefulness. She makes it seem easy with her honey voice and halting dead-on guitar playing. Echos of classic rock themes tumble side by side with traditional folk prowess.
While the style is not entirely original, Kane has a casual, low-key grace that gets it all across. The songs tell tales of domestic comfort, and love as a healing power, ("She Gave Me You") as well as the awkwardness of resolving lust and romance in today's hectic world ("Wanting to Be"). There are the obligatory songs touching on the un- pleasantries of love too ("Coat tails", "Your turn to listen"), and reference to life, death and the Goddess. This is subject matter with which Kane seems quite comfortable.
"I'm writing from inside," she says. "I've been teaching [music], and my style is getting more steady; I think the teaching is bringing me in."
Two of the 12 new tracks are from Kane's first record - one of those being "Sage." "Bless this Rain", a new song that Kane plans to include on the next project, expounds on the idea that events conspire for and with us. Postulating that our destiny is always out there pushing us, Kane describes a raindrop that falls from the sky and lands on a leaf only to fall to the ground, eventually finding it's way to the sea. It is a tale of how nature constantly recycles itself.
All Kane's music has a familiar feel--due in part to her love of classic rock, and even-handed, well written songs.
"When I did my first album, I spent time in the studio with studio musicians; now I work with friends." she says.
Kane has made connections in her travels, and looks forward to future projects with a wider group of musicians. In the mean time, she want to document her regular Tuesday night gigs at the Gathering Grounds in South Minneapolis. "These songs have been in my catalog.. yet I never recorded them. Putting these songs on disc--getting them out--gives me closure."
Teaching music, playing shows and writing songs--Kane is obviously building a life she loves to live. It takes courage to perform with just the voice, the guitar and a handful of songs. Kane exhibits this courage in her work and on both albums. Kane will release Sooner.. at the Anodyne Coffee House party. Come on down and see what Kane does best.