Seattle's Zoe Muth and the High Rollers have made the best alt country album of the year. With a unique voice that recalls Nashville mavericks Nanci Griffith and Iris Dement, Muth is an instantly believable narrator for her tales of wayward lovers and life in the margins. Her ace band is named after a Townes Van Zandt lyric, and even Townes himself might shed a tear if he heard Muth's devestating 8 minute ballad Never Be Fooled Again. This is essential listening for fans of Eilen Jewell. Lucinda Williams and Emmylou Harris. - Signature Sounds Staff
This debut from Seattle singer-songwriter Zoe Muth has been hailed by DJs and critics as one of the best country albums of the year. Here are twelve beautifully rendered vignettes of heartbreak and longing. Filled with subtle wordplay, never falling simply into cleverness, they give us truths about our lives and relationships that are subtle and unflinching. Muth's voice, a sweet, lilting drawl, reminiscent of Emmylou Harris and Iris DeMent, has a resilience that doesn't abandon love so much as look it straight in the eye. The funny thing about good heartbreak songs is that they don't make you feel bad, they make you feel better, and these are songs you can lean on and not worry about them breaking beneath you. Songs that sound so true and familiar, you feel as if they've been around forever. Heartbreaking pedal steel, dusty mountain mandolin, and guitar licks that sound straight out of Bakersfield fill the spaces in between. Together with the Lost High Rollers, a truly inspired ensemble of laid back, rootsy honky-tonkers, Muth works within the traditions of classic country music to create an original sound all her own.
''With the voice of a honky-tonk angel and songs that sound steeped in the classics but tug at the heart with their own distinctive imagery, she's the real deal, as this remarkable album demonstrates. Easily my favorite debut album so far this year from a truly special singer and songwriter.'' - Don Slack (host of Swingin' Doors, KEXP 90.3 FM Seattle)
