Audio By Carbonatix
Life is filled with little ironies, and one of the strangest is that New York City–no one’s idea of a home on the range–is something of a nexus for country music. For more than a decade, on Monday nights, Beat Rodeo has bashed out covers of Buck Owens and Hank Williams; local legend (and barkeep) Eric “Roscoe” Ambel is currently on the road with Steve Earle; and musicians such as the Bottle Rockets, Cherie Knight, and Whiskeytown have made the trek to record at Ambel’s Brooklyn studio. The latest fruit of the Nashville-Williamsburg connection is The Sugar Tree, the new record by twangy troubadour Amy Rigby.
After two fine albums (Diary of a Mod Housewife and Middlesence) Rigby decamped from Brooklyn to make a go of it as a singer-songwriter in Nashville. The Sugar Tree continues her limning of the life of a thirty-something single mother in the modern world to both great comic and poignant effect. From the lustful opening number, “Wait Til I Get You Home,” to the wry torch song “Cynically Yours,” Rigby’s tart observations remain undampened by Nashville. “Better Stay Gone” and “Angel After Hours” give a better window into the female psyche than a stack of John Gray books, and Rigby throws some Neil Young-style guitar solos and big crunchy riffs into the bargain. Add in her always impressive voice and you’ve got a compelling package–even the pro forma “Rode Hard” is leavened by her insinuating vocals. And “Stop Showing Up in My Dreams” is the kind of retro pop song that should be on the radio everywhere. Rigby comes to her pop leanings more authentically than Smash Mouth; so why doesn’t this girl have a hit? The Sugar Tree is the kind of album that makes you wonder why some bright guy (or major label) hasn’t snatched Rigby up yet.
Rigby’s album is filled with the kind of songs and performances that the country establishment gives lip service to but rarely gets behind. At least she’s found support in New York; now they have the chance to be heard elsewhere.
