Charlotte Jusinski
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Santa Fe Reporter, Music SFR Picks
Listen to Lullabies & Cautionary Tales, the latest release from Albuquerque band E Christina Herr and Wild Frontier, and at times it’s easy to think Joni Mitchell’s long-lost but equally talented sister has suddenly found herself backed by a haunting Western band. Herr has been playing professionally since 1989, but her familial musical roots trace back to the 1920s when her grandfather was in a Dixieland jazz band in Virginia. Her career stems from varied influences, including childhood excursions with her friend Linda Ronstadt to Los Angeles night clubs and alt.country venues in the ’80s. The band’s current Southwestern home influences its dry Western style. While the musicianship behind Herr’s clear voice is solid and steady, the tremulous soprano rings in over the players as an almost eerie reminder that these songs are not merely lullabies; they are cautionary tales about life in America, about what it is to exist in the West under vast skies and about the way experiences can follow you like a long shadow cast on sagebrush.
--- Charlotte Jusinski, Santa Fe Reporter, July 16, 2009
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Emily Dranbanski
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New Mexico Magazine ~ Bringing It Home
E. Christina Herr was told by her mother that her melodies are as soothing as lullabies. Her words, however, often convey stories of life’s sometimes treacherous twists and turns, and thus she titled her first New Mexico album Lullabies & Cautionary Tales. So don’t listen to this CD at bedtime—the lyrics are often haunting. Besides, you’ll find your toes tappin’ hard enough that you might hop out of bed to dance.
Folks who like the vocal style of the Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde and the gritty lyrics of Lucinda Williams will enjoy this disc, which Herr describes as Western Gothic. She uses her alto voice to sing words with crystal-clear enunciation, and can handily sustain notes with a pleasing vibrato.
Born in San Antonio, Texas, Herr moved as a youngster to California. Besides growing up in a musical family, she had the good fortune of having Linda Ronstadt as a neighbor. Ronstadt served as Herr’s mentor, taking her to many musical performances.
Herr went on to perform in many California bands, and was involved in the alt-country scene there before moving to New Mexico five years ago. “I had visited this place for 20 years and I feel so at home here,” she says, adding that New Mexico has helped her hone her songwriting skills and has brought her much happiness.
“A lot of people talk about the dangers of Craigslist.com,” she says, “but I put an ad out looking for musicians and ended up with a great partner”—referring to Martin Rowell, who plays acoustic and electric guitars. Rowell hails from Louisiana, and has become Herr’s life partner as well as her bandmate. The two form the core of her band, Wild Frontier, which has featured a variety of players over the past few years.
On Lullabies & Cautionary Tales Herr plays acoustic guitar, a vintage bass guitar, and tambourine, and also brought in two young Albuquerque musicians who regularly perform with the popular blues guitarist Ryan McGarvey, as well as with their own group, Grand Canyon. The pair, Samuel Beath Miller (bass) and August Hunter Johnson (drums, percussion, congas), add much energy to Herr’s album. Jim Mooney plays the lilting mandolin.
“One Road,” “Whiskey Flats,” and “Going Back” demonstrate Herr’s ease in composing country melodies. “One Road,” a great two-stepper, captures the feeling of taking one’s chances along the various paths chosen in life, in the blind faith that they will lead to the heart’s desire. Herr asks, “Will I wander forever? Will I find my way? / Will there be a garden at the end of my traveling day?” Once a designer of gardens, Herr finds the garden a great symbol for contentment and peace amid life’s chaos.
Anyone who has spent a spring in the Land of Enchantment can probably relate to “Devil Wind.” Herr, an avid cyclist, said the lyrics came to her while she was riding in a windstorm. In the song’s background, you can hear windy, atmospheric sounds. The musical accompaniment is often unsettling, with psychedelic electric-guitar riffs and what sound like voodoo rhythms. In the refrain, Herr sings, “Devil wind makes me crazy / Makes me hot, makes me cold / Devil wind rubs up against me / Makes me mad, makes me old.”
Herr rocks out on several tracks here. The playful classic-rock sound of “In Memory” contrasts well with the pensive lyrics, in which Herr reflects on a painful relationship. In the chorus, she laments, “Some people want to know / Was it worth the cost? / Some people want to know.” The album ends with a raucous rockabilly song, “Doggone Lonesome.”
--- Emily Drabanski – New Mexico Magazine, March 2010
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