After recording her first album, Lindeman felt very stuck with what to do next. Eventually she teamed up with Daniel Romano. He not only did the production work on the album, but he also played a whole bunch of instruments for her as well.
The result is, despite its sparseness, a very warm album. Lindeman has an energy in her voice that brings so much personality to her songs which are supported by nary more than a banjo and a guitar most of the time.
The first song on the album, “Everything I Saw” is easily her strongest. The slight flourish of drum complements the string of acoustic guitar and banjos while Lindeman sings about, among other things: “Muddy white petunias, lobelia trails blue-eyed.”
The rest of the songs aren’t quite as quick as the album’s opening track, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Slower tracks like “Trying” help Lindeman’s vocals reach the forefront and also help showcase her evocative imagery. Like in the song “Yarrow and Mint”: “In the heat the air lay heavy on the street/Sweating with smoke, lilac and gasoline.” Or even just patriotic lyrics like in “Chip on My Shoulder” where Lindeman says “You could have anything you could ever be wanting, the country will give you your fill.”
The last few songs on the album do show a bit of a drop in energy, but it doesn’t detract from the warmness that this album exudes, and it’s refreshing to hear so much emotion shown in so little instrumentation.
