These songs were written by Georgia singer-songwriter Durrett between 1993 and 1996, recorded by her uncle Vic Chesnutt during that same time, and they?re coming out now because?? There?s got to be a story there, because many of these songs are good enough to have been aired back then, and not to have languished so long. They?re somber and understated, with Durrett?s muted acoustic and electric guitars the constants in the arrangements. Overall, the songs are unfussy to the point of occasional grayness; the title track is over before I?ve really begun to focus on it. That kind of abstraction is appealing on a singer-songwriter album, as so many others strive to inhabit their songs so fully that it?s not just a song, it?s a James Taylor (or whoever) Song, and it?s over when he decides it is and not before and you have to pay attention to every second lest you miss some of what James Taylor Is Thinking About. I like how Durrett gets away from all that, letting the listener?s experience be less controlled. But it?s even better when Durrett also subtly incorporates unusual musical elements here and there (e.g., the galumphing horns on ?Ablaze?), because such things keep the songs from drifting too far.

Chesnutt plays and sings, too, but not in a way that imposes on the proceedings as a more famous artist might otherwise do on an album like this. He never, for example, overshadows Durrett?s lyrics in the way you might think he?d be tempted to. He lets them stand on their own, some strongly (?I did what I could, but not what it took,? from ?You There?), others less so. Half the time I?m just happy when a singer-songwriter avoids writing a song about Elvis or Jesus, so I?m hardly that great a judge of ? whoops, though, there?s ?BC,? which opens ?Jesus is coming, and I?m in a crib / Gainesville is ugly, the landscape is grim.? OK, the Jesus reference grates, but the weird, rambling meditations that follow have a less-than-obvious theological bent, and Durrett?s grandmother?s spooky warble in the background is the icing on the eerie cake. Some overly precious moments appear, (cf. the overwrought ?Slip?), as can be expected from teenager-penned works, but if Durrett can lose them and concentrate on developing the darker sounds found here, her forthcoming album will be impressive. 7/10 -- Sal Addays (17 October, 2005)