Po' Girl: Trish Klein (vocals, guitar, banjo, mandolin, harmonica); Allison Russell (vocals, clarinet, pennywhistle, whistling).
Additional personnel: Frazey Ford (vocals); Jesse Zubot (fiddle); Les Mersa (chromatic harmonica); Cr Avery (harmonica); Anna Lumiere (Hammond B-3 organ, Wurlitzer piano, Fender Rhodes piano); Roey Shemesh (acoustic stand up bass); Frazey Ford, Mare L'esperance (background vocals).
Personnel: Allison Russell (vocals, whistling, pennywhistle, clarinet); Trish Klein (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, banjo, harmonica); Jesse Zubot (fiddle); C.R. Avery (harmonica).
Audio Mixer: Marc L'Esperance.
Recording information: Baker St Studio, North Van; Heavysonic, East Van.
Photographer: Laurel Terlesky.
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
Professional Reviews
Uncut (4/04, p.93) - 4 stars out of 5 - "There's a dash of Cowboy Junkies in its understated approach, a little Norah Jones in its bathtub-soakiness, and more than a little Elizabeth Cotton in the margins."
Dirty Linen (p.46) - "There's a lived in feeling to this set of saturated blues....Po' Girl takes its fun where she can get it....[With] an offbeat sense of humor..."
Mojo (Publisher) (4/04, p.109) - 3 stars out of 5 - "[T]his trio adds soulful jazz-blues to the more familiar banjo-and-fiddle country music."
