BigO Magazine (October 1996)
KRISTEN BARRY
The Beginning. The Middle. The End.
Life sucks. And from the title of the opening track, it seems that "nothing's too good" for Kristen Barry.
"Why you want to shut me out, keep me down, till I feel nothing?" She asks. On another song, I Swear, she retorts: "I gave you all, I gave you what I had. I didn't think that it was really so bad, but once they start to suck, they leave you hollow in the end." Surely you get the picture by now. The tone of her debut album is one of overriding resentment and indignation as the 26-year-old singer wails about the great wide emptiness in the void deck called life.
Now that's the art of discontentment for you. Recorded in Los Angeles from July to November 1995, and produced by the Robb Brothers (The Lemonheads, Buffalo Tom), this album features drummer Matt Chamberlain, guitarist Rick DeChurch and bassist Chris Ballew (on load from Presidents Of The United States Of America). Together they kick up enough angst to impress even the likes of Nirvana and Pearl Jam.
And don't let her age fool you either - Barry's lyrics come from one world-weary mind. She sings on Gotta Go: "I'm finally gonna leave this town - it's killing me. 'Cause 10 years is a long time for someone with a short life." Dishing out tales from her vision of an urban wasteland, Barry has a bone to pick with anything ranging from broken relationships to television. And in between, there is even a cover of Neil Young's Don't Cry (taken from his 1989 album, Freedom), another sad love song.
Despite the grunge undertone, the album does not dissolve into total gloom. Underneath the bitter first layer, there is a certain sweetness that makes Barry endearing. Her voice is smooth and full (she never mumbles), and while singing about dire situations, her cries are never desperate and never for help. Instead there is a certain aloofness and strength in her calmness.
Throughout the album, Barry retains a melodic edge in her songs buoyed by lively guitar-driven tunes. Hit materials abound, from haunting ballads like Foolishness and Why Are You Wasting My Time to spirited numbers like Seeing Gun, Big Girl and Paralyzed, proving that while life sucks, it never hurts so good.
(7) - S Young
