Patty Griffin
Unless something goes unaccountably awry in radioland, you probably won't find any platinum singles among the 10 starkly beautiful, sublimely melodic songs of love, loss and heartache in this Boston club veteran's debut disc. But Griffin's bare-bones, Alanis Morissette brand of strum and angst—just her soulful, at times guttural, wail and spartan guitar—is so thoroughly beguiling, you might find yourself humming along or tapping a toe as she bristles, "I can chew like a cannibal I can yell like a cat/ I even had you believing I really really like it like that." On the wistful "Time Will Do the Talking," she finds a way to come to grips with her bummer trip: "So I got a little bit more mud on my face/ But the years will bring a bigger scheme of things/ And make a pretty memory out of my disgrace." The ghosts that are rattling around in Griffin's attic know just what they're doing. (A&M)
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