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Sound Check: February 2008

News and reviews of queer women in music.

Recently, veteran lesbian performers k.d. lang and Patty Larkin released albums a week apart. It was Larkin’s first release since 2003; lang’s first original solo LP in eight years (her 2004 album, hymns of the 49th parallel, was comprised of covers).

Larkin has been an East Coast hit, and on her new album, Watch the Sky, she takes her rightful liberties to fully control the songwriting, producing and engineering of the album. Despite using unconventional instruments like the bouzouki (a Greek string instrument) and a “baribow” (an electric baritone guitar played with a violin bow), Watch the Sky isn’t all that cohesive. Most of it sounds sullen and lonely, as Larkin attempts to be reflective through tired themes of nature (“We were walking in the park” on the light-hearted “Beautiful,” “Dear heart beat for me, dear heart, beneath the shaded tree” on “Dear Heart,” etc.).

Perhaps Watch the Sky is disappointing because it lacks the true folk soul that made Larkin so distinguishable in the first place. In the 1990s, she stood out in the music industry because she was a fantastic musician who knew how to play her guitar with heart, but on her newest effort, she might have spread herself too thin by fiddling with the rest of the production.

While Patty Larkin may be a new name in your lesbian musician catalog, k.d. lang is surely not, and yet it’s completely possible you’ve never heard her sing a note. She is somewhat synonymous with lesbian music, even though her sound is much different than others who are also lumped into the same overly broad category (see: Indigo Girls, Ani DiFranco). Even if you only know lang from her lesbian chic Vanity Fair cover with Cindy Crawford from the ’90s, now is the perfect time to discover the country-tinged soul of her music.

Her latest album, Watershed, is a modern-day creation of Patsy Cline meets Ella Fitzgerald, a culmination of her career in both the western and jazz genres such as 1989’s Absolute Torch and Twang and 2002’s A Wonderful World with Tony Bennett. Her range moves easily from the depths of an alto to a pleasant soprano, and her voice sounds like it was made to accompany the ballads.

Compared to Larkin on Watch the Sky, lang sticks with what she’s good at: Her vocals are the focus, and the strings in the background remain in the background. “I will make you happy baby, I will make you smile,” she sings on “Once in a While,” where her Karen Carpenter-esque singing against a slightly country background almost makes modern country bearable.

Like Larkin, lang also took charge of her album, acting as producer for the first time, and she’s done well. It might seem passé, but getting to know k.d. lang is getting to know some great bossa nova pop with an edge of twang.

On the other side of the spectrum are Michigan duo Fallsway Downs. The lo-fi recordings on their debut album, Songs You’ll Like and Sometimes Listen To, are 12 self-released songs of acoustic guitar and drums. Vocalist Jess Klein sings about the women in her life, whether they are coming, going or staying just to pass the time. They are coffeehouse pop, but the CD has a little too much of it – if it were an EP, it would be a little easier to digest (especially with one track, “Charades,” totaling 10 minutes and 50 seconds).

The second track, “Come Early,” shows off the goods: “This bed that we lie in is unfit for two, so move closer, move closer.” It’s repetitive in the catchiest way possible, a call for a lady friend to “come over, come often, come early.” However, half the tracks remain rather repetitive in a boring way. Fallsway Downs have some growing to do, but there is some hope for them to get out of Midwestern cafes in the future.

News and Notes

Tegan and Sara are the hardest working twins in show business. They’ve just announced the next leg of their U.S. tour for the rest of the winter and early spring. The best part is that they’re bringing along Australian duo, An Horse, whose front woman, Kate Cooper, is an out lesbian and also a member of the band Iron On, whose EP I reviewed last month.

Tegan and Sara (L) and Kate Cooper of An Horse (R)

Kaki King releases her new album, Dreaming of Revenge, on March 11 and has also announced tour dates in support. We’ll have a review of the album and an interview with the guitar virtuoso next month.

The Cliks and Melissa Etheridge have been nominated for GLAAD media awards in the Music Artist category.

As you probably read in Best. Lesbian. Week. Ever., Jill Sobule is trying to raise some money for a charitable cause – her next record. She’s offering thank yous in the form of an advance copy of the album and free tickets to her concert if you’re enough of a fan to contribute.

Jill Sobule

The Blow, Kaki King, Mika Miko, Office, Sia, Ms. Led and Von Iva have all been confirmed to play next month at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. A month later in Indio, Calif., Yo Majesty and Tegan and Sara will play at Coachella.

Montreal-based electro band Lesbians On Ecstasy put out a new video for their single “Sisters in the Struggle.” It was recorded in a wooded area by queer video artist K8 Hardy.

Recently out Australian pop singer-songwriter Missy Higgins has announced American tour dates for this winter and spring. Her first show in the U.S. is Feb. 25 at San Francisco’s The Independent.

Portland, Ore., quartet Swan Island have announced their breakup. They played their last show at the end of January in their hometown.

Fans of the Ditty Bops can now have their favorite lesbian couple in their lives all year long – the Bops have produced a 2008 Ditty Bops Save the World bikini calendar that you can purchase on their website for $19.99. Worth every penny!

On Tour This Month: Patty Larkin, k.d. lang, Indigo Girls, Sia, God-des and She.

Have tips, press kits, comments or suggestions? Feel free to fill us in at [email protected].

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