My Shirt Looks Good On You

Album review

There's something so honest about folk rocker Catie Curtis' voice. It's full of life and is the kind of voice that comes from someone who doesn't exist, but rather lives. The product of Curtis' life thus far is served up on her soulful fourth set, My Shirt Looks Good on You, a winning and driven folk-rock collection that explores love in Curtis' signature idealistic fashion. "Love Takes the Best of You" offers up an exploration of not romantic love, as many of the disc's 14 songs do, but maternal love, as Curtis sings of adopting an international baby. The song's lyrics are so simply touching: "And I wish I could promise you a beautiful world/That would never break your heart/Maybe that's what we are here for/We try and fix what comes apart." Sometimes full of adolescent charm, as on the title track; sometimes stark, as on "Don't Lay Down," a song-letter to a dying friend, Curtis is always full of heart on this collection. Musically, My Shirt Looks Good on You is a pure folk-rock fest, inspiring a good toe-tapping, eyes-closed-in-affirmation listening experience. The fabric of the sound is a tapestry of Curtis' robust voice and guitar and Jimmy Ryan's electric mandolin backed by a generally mid-tempo beat. The prominence of the electric mandolin transcends the disc's sound into something lofty and mesmerizing. This record will look and sound good on audiences' players.

© Liana Jonas /TiVo