Sharron Kraus
(Strange Attractors Audio House)
Folk music is difficult to define these days, since every yahoo with an acoustic guitar as primary musicmaking tool gets labeled "folk." And while the "music for folks" cliché sounds banal, it's also got a point, y'know? But if you think of folk as music that carries on a tradition that pre-dates the use of electricity, then Sharron Kraus is one of the 21st century's greatest practitioners. On The Woody Nightshade, the Oxford native not only has a perfect feel for a haunting, acoustic sound that evolved little over the course of centuries, but she writes original music in that vein.
Especially significant is that Kraus isn't pretending she's living in the 18th century when she picks up guitar and pen - she writes tunes that reflect the world she lives in now, even when the tunes use non-contemporary imagery. "Evergreen Sisters" may sound like a poem from the 1800s, but its criticism of those who thoughtlessly plunder the earth's resources under the assumption that future generations will deal with the consequences rings true now. "Story" reminds us that quaint notions of destiny or fate don't determine the way we live our lives, despite the religious forces that constantly try to convince us otherwise.
Most of Kraus' messages, though, aim straight for the heart of the human matter. She deals with relationships from a mature, realistic perspective, rather than a dewy-eyed romantic one. "Once" ponders a burning romance that's cooled to a deep friendship, and misses the heat from before. "Teacher" contemplates how the affairs of youth repeat themselves in maturity. "Rejoice in Love" celebrates its subject from a tempered perspective, advising "Rejoice in love/But don't rely on it/Fall in love/But don't be surprised when you fall out," before concluding "I would rather not live with a lover/I'll live with friends/And together we'll look after one another."
Kraus' jangling acoustic atmosphere sounds piped in from another century, but it never hits the point of preciousness - this is a sound she loves, not one she feels bound to by tradition. Her husky soprano, so much like her forebear Sandy Denny's, also helps keep the material germane. And that's the key to the artistic success of The Woody Nightshade - this isn't about representing folk as a museum piece, but as a timeless, living tradition that's as relevant now as it has ever been.
DOWNLOAD: "Evergreen Sisters," "Rejoice in Love," "Once" MICHAEL TOLAND
