Traveling Alone (CD)
Tift Merritt
Amoeba Review
10/01/2012
Tift Merritt’s first album of new material in four years is something to celebrate for fans of smart alternative country. The singer-songwriter has been able to harness the wisdom and songwriting chops of her forebears Joni Mitchell and Emmylou Harris, but she also possesses a warm, accessible voice that hearkens back to classic county artists like Tammy Wynette. Traveling Alone sounds both like an album written on tour and written about a breakup, detailing both physical and emotional travel. Duet “Drifted Apart” sees Merritt trading off verses with Andrew Bird about a passionate relationship slowly coming apart at the seams. She turns it up for “Still Not Home,” the electrified, “Pretty Vacant”-style riff sits prettily among the country-rock guitars and Merritt’s soothing voice. On “Feeling of Beauty,” she stops to smell the roses in a gorgeous backdrop of sighing steel guitars and lovely backups from Jay Brown, asking, “If you don’t mind, I’ll stay on a couple of days.” Love may feel fleeting for Merritt, but musically she has created a lasting statement.
Track Listing
Disc 1 Titles |
Artist |
Length |
---|---|---|
1.
Traveling Alone
|
Tift Merritt | 04:45 |
2.
Sweet Spot
|
Tift Merritt | 02:50 |
3.
Drifted Apart
|
Tift Merritt | 03:34 |
4.
Still Not Home
|
Tift Merritt | 03:48 |
5.
Feeling of Beauty
|
Tift Merritt | 04:01 |
6.
Too Soon To Go
|
Tift Merritt | 04:35 |
7.
Small Talk Relations
|
Tift Merritt | 03:23 |
8.
Spring
|
Tift Merritt | 04:21 |
9.
To Myself
|
Tift Merritt | 03:34 |
10.
In the Way
|
Tift Merritt | 03:35 |
11.
Marks
|
Tift Merritt | 05:44 |