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Boston Globe Review 'Geography' is first person, but still universal
March 4th, 2008
by By Linda Laban The Boston Globe
"I've often lived inside my head," sings Carrie Newcomer on the lilting Appalachian-influenced ballad "There Is a Tree," which opens her 11th album for Rounder Records. The Indiana singer-songwriter might be singing in the first person, but her themes are quite universal. Particularly looming on this record is change, which seems ominous in its uncertainty when compared to "A Map of Shadows." Newcomer is an astute observer with a keen knack for a poignant melody and persuasive rhythm. Throughout the record her forceful voice soars and then dips to a deeper tone as often as the instrumentation moves from rich - lots of plangent fiddle and cello and warm piano - to little more than her acoustic guitar and the firm purr of a stand-up bass. Newcomer ends with a touch of whimsy in the jaunty "Don't Push Send," a jazzy rumination on the vague and often rash communication that is e-mail. The frenzied song is couched with a maddening rush of regret. Know the feeling?