On her first solo outing, the 2000 EP Waltzie, former Whiskeytown fiddler Cary distanced herself somewhat from her former band's alt.country sound by coming on like a modern Sandy Denny, to fine effect. Her second full album is closer to contemporary Americana. Though attempts at Amy Rigby territory ring hollow, a couple of country weepies bear redemptive powers. And when a clarinet solo brightens "I Want to Learn to Waltz," one's struck by how ripe for expansion country-rock's framework remains.
On her first solo outing, the 2000 EP Waltzie, former Whiskeytown fiddler Cary distanced herself somewhat from her former band’s alt.country sound by coming on like a modern Sandy Denny, to fine effect. Her second full album is closer to contemporary Americana. Though attempts at Amy Rigby territory ring hollow, a couple of country weepies bear redemptive powers. And when a clarinet solo brightens “I Want to Learn to Waltz,” one’s struck by how ripe for expansion country-rock’s framework remains.
