"To walk in your wake isn't easy to do," Avril McInally sings on "Wake". She seems to be doing her part despite the difficulty, carrying the torch for all of the folk-rock legends that came before her. In the tradition of Gram Parsons, Fairport Convention and, yes, a myriad of modern acts, McInally and her band play plugged-in electric folk that consistently (if only in volume) rises above whispered poetics and streetcorner protest. Her formidable voice couples Linda Thompson's earthiness with the naked emoting of Rainer Maria's Caithlin De Marrais, while Tim Gilbride's guitar either crackles with twang ("Jewelry of the World") or hits Richard Buckner-like emotional lows ("Perfume"). While "Walk Away" suffers from a slightly anonymous, vanilla quality, "Wake" counteracts with beautiful, slate grey guitars and recondite lyrics like "To sleep a deep sleep and awake in the dew / to feel your fish bones / moss and fingers and toes". Uva Ursi have been playing together for about a decade, and Matter evidences all the subtlety and tight chemistry of a well-seasoned project. Justin Stewart

I’ve been spellbound by this CD since the first time I heard it. It’s a different form of transportation...maybe a full-moon ride in a small boat...charting its course by way of the constellations outlined by Richard Thompson, Gene Clark, Tom Verlaine, the Velvets, but the mood is its own, and it’s a mood you don’t really want to pin down...something like wonder. The songs are catchy and played with precision and restraint, so there’s room in them for you to look around. The most welcome new CD I’ve heard in a long time.

Prepare to take a mesmerizing emotional journey courtesy of Uva Ursi.....McInally's voice calls to mind an edgier version of Jewel (in fact, two friends I played Walk Away for thought it was Jewel!). However, later tracks move away from that smooth,upbeat,folky sound, and by track 4 (Perfume) the band has a nice, dark groove cooking garnished with some great guitar licks. The instrumental lines are thoughtfully played, leaving room to ponder the lyrics, and the whole band gets a chance to shine on "Wake".

From the first few bars of Uva Ursi's new album, you know you're in good company. These elegant, celebratory songs don't need any extra flash or dazzle to bring on a mood which is probably unique to them alone. I imagine it is what a traveller might feel at his first sight of a soft feather-bed after a long journey's end. Their live shows are the perfect demonstration of this sort of low-key jubiliation at making it back again (finally), to a place of comfort, but they've also managed to capture it very well here for posterity. They leave enough rock and roll jostle to give these songs real heft, but they've crafted their staightforward rock lines to turn a bit iridescent at the edges, and a dreaminess hangs over it all. I imagine the gorgeous arpeggiations in the middle of 'Wake' (my favorite track here) are those first waves of sleep moving in on that weary traveller, leading to a mournful guitar solo at the end which is like his first freshly-spun dream taking flight. Avril McInally's voice, beautifully full and flinty, has a hint of cool desolation in places, reminding us of troubles undertaken, or troubles perhaps to come. The guitars and rhythms, crafted with perfect economy (not a note is wasted), never once seem forced or rushed. If you are guessing that they would be the ideal band for an evening out with friends at a cozy neighborhood haunt (especially, say, at the end of a long and difficult work-week), you would be entirely correct. I'd hate to see them pigeon-holed as 'only' that, but that will do very nicely. I can also picture the opening track 'Walk Away' going quite well with heartbreak, as the impressive tempo-change finale (with Avril in velvety multi-tracked harmony) implores: 'What do I do when you are far away? / What do I do when you are gone?' It seems like it should be a sad song, but it isn't really. None of these are, not completely. No matter what mood they strike, there's always a kind of restfulness behind these songs that leaves me refreshed. When so much of music these days leaves you fatigued, it's memorable and rare to find the kind that coolly mops your brow. My only complaint is that this is only six tracks long, and--well--some of the journeys I've been on can last a long, long time. I look forward to a longer respite, as soon as they (and I) can manage it.