(Signature Sounds)

www.signaturesounds.com)

After three previous albums that have successfully garnered her a modest following in her native Austin, Golden Apples of the Sun finds singer/songwriter Caroline Herring following in the footsteps of Joni, Joan, Judy and Emmylou in offering full devotion to the sepia hues of folk finesse. Relying solely on her soaring, high-pitched singing and the lithe strum of a solitary acoustic guitar, she conveys a luminous blend of originals and well-trod covers with the purity of a campfire sing-along.  While songs such as "See See Rider," "Long Black Veil" and Cyndi Lauper's familiar aching standby "True Colors" hardly seem revelatory, Herring succeeds in plying them with her own spin, giving graceful performances that blur the line between contemporary and traditional. Her reading of Joni Mitchell's "Cactus Tree" may be less distinctive - Herring's upper timbre becomes a dead ringer for Mitchell's patented warble - yet given her desire to be typecast, the choice is practically a given.  Herring nestles herself comfortably into that frayed and rustic easy chair where the patchouli crowd dwells, and with a subsequent five-song EP, "Silver Apples of the Moon, following in the same direction, it hardly seems likely she'll be ambling elsewhere soon.

Standout Tracks: "True Colors," See See Rider," "Tales of the Islander" LEE ZIMMERMAN