Album Notes

"I was running to my car." A simple line, maybe a bit too bare, but for Kari Newhouse it's more than just that: she transforms this lyric into a narrative of deep passion and unrequited emotion. Her subtle percussions and the strings that creep into the track actually do sound like "Snow" falling as the title suggests. In combination with her "dark angel" voice, her guitar strumming makes a simple story of a long-distance friendship seem so close to heart. And like that, those two and a half minutes come to an abrupt, yet appropriate, end, reminiscent of the door to a car shutting and vacuuming in the sound of silenced cold.

"Snow" is but a mere representation of what Kari does. Her musical abilities and mis-"behaved" lyrics have been gripping fans since she launched her first release Crazy About You which was listed as a top ten release of the year in Detroit. At the young age of 5, she proved to incredulous teachers that her hands were indeed not too small to play a guitar. She taught herself how to play and began to compose songs. By the age of 12 she became the youngest associate member of ASCAP. Her first full length album, Playing Juliet, sold thousands of copies in a short span in the local circuit and features Kari as an evolved and accomplished vocalist, musician and songwriter. Newhouse was a finalist in the HORDE festival competition as well as as performing at Lilith Fair in 1999.

With its deceivingly experimental array of styles, ranging from somber despair to synthesized hooks, Lit At Both Ends, cements Kari Newhouse's credibility as a competitive singer-songwriter at the level of Tori Amos, Sarah McLachlan and other female artists.