Po' Girl Albums (4)
'Deer in the Night'
Release Date 1/1/2008
Tracks 15
Label Po' Girl Music Inc.
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
By their third release it had already been noted numerous times that beautiful harmonies were a strong point for alternative folksters Po' Girl and that they could entrance with music that wasn't afraid to straddle genres while remaining organically pure. With their third release. Canada's acoustic wonders have conquered the full-length, conceptual album, something that didn't seem important before when experiencing the group song by song was the thing. Home to You is a thematically sound effort focusing on what "home" means in a day and age where jobs, school, relationships, and a million other things send people miles and miles away from where they were born. Some songs are direct, some are so metaphorical that they seem to have strayed from the "home" theme until more closely inspected, but whatever direction they come from, they succeed. While the band still relies quite a bit on "feel" -- mixing coffee shop, front porch, and old-timey nostalgia music into their own unique blend -- their ability to write poignant lyrics has become just as strong. Allison Russell's "To the Angry Evangelist" is the ideal example of this growth as the singer paints religion as a suppressing force and rallies against the earthbound struggle/joyful afterlife dichotomy, declaring she wants her joy in this life. It's also the song where Po' Girl feel most like a group as the four musicians simmer in slow motion beneath the venomous words before exiting in a frantic cacophony that used to be exclusive territory for electric rock bands. The rest of the album finds the group sounding more like a songwriter's circle than they ever have with everyone getting their turn on the mic and using an abundance of "I"'s when they get there. "I" dominates the album, the "you"'s are mostly betrayers and loves lost, and it takes 12 tracks to get to the word "we," although the "we" in "Texas" is in the past tense, with "You were thinking of her/I was thinking of him"; it was doomed from the beginning. You can read up on their history and find that it's no big surprise these four vagabonds have an iffy relationship with home, but they seem to admire the traditional elements of the concept and often pine for more of a connection to it. How well the listener can relate to this bittersweet relationship will decide how deep the album sinks in, but there's no denying Home to You is a layered, insightful, and achingly poignant triumph that still works even if you just want to hear the pretty music. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
What separates Po' Girl from so many other folky groups with multiple singers is that no matter how sweet their voices are, what really stands out is the mesmerizing groove. They're fine songwriters, too, but that's not what first hits you. It's the lazy sway of Po' Girl's music, a hypnotic and humid sway that's hard to resist. The album's title, Vagabond Lullabies, is probably a better description but it doesn't touch on the Southern feel of the record, a record that comes from someplace anywhere but Southern: Vancouver, Canada. The porches in Vancouver must be wonderful places to play music, since there is a genuine smile that comes through Po' Girl's music, and despite all the wandering, the tunes always come home in the end. There's a druggy muddiness too, making who does what less obvious and Po' Girl a very cohesive unit. Allison Russell is the breathier one while Trish Klein is the more brassy vocalist, and they complement each other wonderfully. On first listen, the album enchants beginning to end. On second listen, some of the songs separate themselves as great highlights, Russell's rustic rave-up "Movin' On" being the best. Sneaky raps and beatboxing from guest CR Avery give the album an approachable sense of fun, and the revolving instrumentation keeps things interesting. Add a well-structured running order for the tracks and you've got an intimate, smooth, and dreamy album to waste away a sunny afternoon. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
One of 2003's most self-assured debuts, this album unites a pair of talented young Canadians, Allison Russell and Trish Klein, the latter a veteran of the alternative folk trio the Be Good Tanyas. Their richly textured music conveys a late-night, jazzy, improvisational feeling, thanks partly to Russell's wonderfully dreamy clarinet flourishes, the understated production, and soulful vocals that eschew perfect harmonies in favor of loose-knit, spontaneous-sounding interplay. Don't expect any whoops, hollers, or screeching guitars, though: Po' Girl is about as mellow as Cowboy Junkies' Trinity Session and Hot Tuna's debut, which is to say very mellow. On paper, moreover, their lyrics sound as depressed as they are laid-back: titles include "Bad Luck Day Baby," "Bleak St.," "Malaise Days," and "Cold Hungry Blues." But like much good blues, the music here manages to boost listeners' spirits even as it recalls hard times. ~ Jeff Burger, All Music Guide
