Erin McKeown
Hundreds of Lions
Righteous Babe
By Al Kaufman
"You can't deny me my kingdom" asserts Erin McKeown on "You, Sailor," a hushed ballad that recalls early Suzanne Vega. And while the song deals in more of a maritime theme, one can't help think that the line serves as a metaphor for McKeown's musical career; as in, "Hey, people, I've been making some damn fine music for quite a few years now, and I will have a rather large appreciative audience."
McKeown deserves it. Ever since 2003's Grand (her music before that was a bit too folky and introspective), she has been putting out fantastic pop with a flair for the dramatic, whether it be her own songs or Tin Pan Alley covers.
Hundreds of Lions continues the trend. Opening track, "To a Hammer," a jaunty, breezy little number in which her rich voice channels that of her idol, Judy Garland, leads one to believe that McKeown may have a more fruitful career on Broadway. She has the pipes for it. And the lyrics ("To a blind man every day looks the same") are as catchy as the melody.
McKeown's forte is her jazzy numbers."Santa Cruz," "The Rascal" and the downright bouncy "The Foxes" will get anyone's toes tapping. Some of her more experimental songs, such as the film noir-ish "(Put the Fun Back in) Funeral," work, while others, such as the moody last two songs, "28" and "Seemless," don't. But overall, the hit ratio is much greater than the miss.
McKeown took three years to record Lions, and decided to go it alone, without a label. She signed with Ani DiFranco's Righteous Babe label after completing the CD. The effort was worth it. It offered her time to play with the instrumentation. While McKeown's rich, crystalline vocals are always at he center, her use (or those of producer Sam Kassirer) of brass, woodwinds, and wood blocks at just the right time intensify the whole experience.
Erin McKeown plays Eddie's Attic, with Doria Roberts, on Wednesday, October 28.
