Laura Love - You Ain't Got No Easter Clothes (2004)

On You Ain't Got No Easter Clothes (taken from a memoir of the same name), folksinger Laura Love picks and strums one rather witty and solid folk tune after another, although her vocals never quite waver from a childlike innocence. "Good Enough" is such an example, with just a pinch of additional guitar accenting the rather straightforward yet inviting tune. She lets loose halfway through before returning to a hushed Victoria Williams-esque whisper. A darker tone works better on the off-kilter "Homage to Omaha," which brings Lucinda Williams circa "Essence" to mind. When she changes gears into a lighter and soulful air during "Ain't No Power," the artist mixes a slow Bonnie Raitt gospel leaning with the fragility of Rickie Lee Jones. It's the first true highlight as she fleshes the protest number out. The ensuing "Freak Flag" is too freaky for most to endure, as Love ambles along at a Tom Waits pace. Another summer-sounding offering makes "Oh Safonda" sound more like world music and doesn't quite hit the mark. The singer's method of coining unique phrasing is quite good on the midtempo and Lilith Fair-esque title track. Yet she isn't happy sticking to one format, as the jazzy and rather mediocre pedestrian version of "In Loncoln" attests. However, she hits pay dirt with the funky "hipalachian" style of "Behind the Door." When Love keeps things relatively simple, the result is near pristine, as on the gospel-meets-folk "Hard Times." Wrapping up with "Satisfied," an uptempo soul track à la Annie Lennox, this album is rather satisfying.~Review by Jason MacNeil