CMJ New Music (September 1996)
KRISTEN BARRY / The Beginning The Middle The End / Virgin
Kristen Barry plied her songs for years in Seattle in various formats, emoting by herself with an acoustic guitar, and working with different bands. And judging by "Gotta Go"— a kiss-off to a guy (and a scene) too into drugs — there's no love lost for the town where her name always seemed to be misspelled in posters ("Kirsten," or "Berry"). So it's perhaps odd that her long-awaited debut is dogged by the sound blamed on Seattle: too much grungy guitar-noise, not enough songwriting and singing. Barry's range isn't huge, and her voice doesn't always grab words with authority. But when given good treatment and material, her dusky singing has a lot of charm. It's only on the fourth song, "Created," after a suitably ominous intro, that the record begins to flaunt what she can do. The chorus shows off her lush, introspective voice, and the song is moving; the lyrics are worthwhile but fairly standard—hinting at adolescent suicide and child abuse. In the record's better second half, it's clear Barry and producers the Robb Brothers are successfully capturing powerful vocals and raw, rocking textures. "Seeing Gun" is catchy and topical; "Paralyzed" has strings and a nice mystery to it.
Barry has started a journey but not yet found a new home. DANNY HOUSMAN
