Jennifer Kimball

The former member of The Story tells her own stories on her latest recording. Oh Hear Us marks Kimball's first solo release on her own label and her first solo album since the 1998 Imaginary Road/PolyGram release Veering from the Wave. Kimball's kept herself busy with a live album and a Maybe Baby collaboration with her husband, Ry Cavanaugh. But fans who have been hungry for pure Kimball finally have something to sink their teeth into. The record starts strong with "Can't Climb Up," a rollicking tune describing moving out of an unsupportive relationship ("You're on the train and headed out of town/I put a penny on the track"). Electric guitars underscore the lyrics while drums and shakers move us on down the line. Other stellar tracks include "Don't Take Your Love Away," in which accordion and toy piano give an added poignancy to lyrics like "How could you love somebody so much, knowing they've chosen to leave?" The bluesy Appalachian melody of "Eternal Father," the raucous burlesque of "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams" and the classical strains of the gorgeous ballad "East of Indiana" all go equally well with Kimball's unmistakable vocals - half yodel, half moan, all effortless beauty.