i spend my life traveling all around the world but put this on when i need to come home. that voice.
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I put on "The Jeopardy of Circumstance" and I find myself sliding down a clear, invigorating waterway through a canyon: a refreshing, cool ride through the hot, unforgiving landscape that is the desert of human emotion. Carrie's voice soothes me while her lyrics wrap me in the arms of a friend who assures me I'll be alright, somehow, after I move through the pain, provided I remember to kick up my heels on the dance floor that is the lush forest of human joy and jubilation, powered by love. 
I hear the idea of the Jeopardy of Circumstance in the way Carrie juxtaposes melancholy lyrics with gleeful melodies in “Broke TV” and conversely, the hopeful message of the words in “Obadiah” against the background of its sorrowful and sparse composition and the matter of fact sweetness of the melody in “Black Lung” is counterintuitive to the somber tone of the story told.The toe-tapping bounce of “Shell of a Man” makes heartbreak seem like the down on a rollercoaster when I put up my hands and enjoy the rush of the ride.  And the emptiness of leaving home is filled with the comfort of noticing the offerings at my current station in “Ode to Ogallala”. On each individual excursion, my boat is carried by the rich soulful breeze of Carrie’s voice in the sail.
Golly, thank you for this album Carrie! Anyone on this voyage called life would do well to include some Carrie Elkin in his/her suitcase. 
“You can’t question an angel when greed’s got your tongue” – Questions About Angels
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WOW. What a voice. I walk around singing Questions about Angels to myself all the time. Her lyrics are powerful - and how can someone that tiny emit that amazing of a sound? I'm impressed.
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Throughout our lives, we are exposed to situations that seem beyond our control.  Destiny or fate feels bigger than our efforts.  And sometimes our choices don’t feel like choices at all.  What do we do?  Do we fight?  Or accept?  Or do we just resign to the wonder and mystery of it all?  The characters, in the aptly titled "The Jeopardy of Circumstance", are confronted by predicaments, and reflect these choices.   
    Like many great lyricists, Carrie allows the song’s characters to frame her questions and divulge her emotions.  The writing is mature, personal, and also prismatic enough to allow the listener their perspective.  I hear regardful echoes of Tom Joad Springsteen.
    Musically, this album is Americana slanted to the country side.  However, the production is as much atmospheric resonance and subdued bellowing that expands and contracts with the breadth of the song, as it is Texas twang.  
    Miss Elkin’s soft and sweet singing draws you in.  The real treat, however, is when her voice opens up to reveal a singer who sounds like she swills whiskey on Saturdays and belts Amazing Grace on Sundays.  This is Americana at its best.
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