Eastsideweek (August 1996)

Kristen Barry

by Linda Laban

On August 6 at the Crocodile Cafe, surrounded by family, friends, and the curious, Kristen Barry was very much the homecoming queen. Just back from a nationwide tour with Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament's band Three Fish, the Redmond-raised singer-songwriter and guitarist was also celebrating the release of her Virgin Records debut CD: the beginning, the middle, the end.

She was dressed in a diamante-studded thrift-store evening gown, bore a smile that was only slightly nervous, and was backed by the standard setup of guitarist, bass player, and drummer. At its best, her voice - thick and sweet as honey - was gorgeously reminiscent of Chrissie Hynde, although with a country lilt rather than a pop one. At times, though, Barry began to sound annoyingly similar to other Seattle bands (agony-inflected vocals drowned in over-vociferous guitar), with one song, "Nothing's Too Good," sounding like a less whiskey-drenched Hole.

One of the stronger songs, "Gotta Go," decried another phenomenon Seattle has become known for, drugs. "It's not what I believe in," she sang simply, strumming her Gretsch guitar.

But despite her strong performance and the friendly gathering, Barry's songwriting did not stand out as being better or much different from the many (mostly good) girl-fronted rock acts around these days. (The trendy but not-quite-realized format of her CD title kind of sums it up.) She may surprise us yet, though. Barry began the evening with a little tale about her ninth-grade dream of instant stardom, adding, "I guess it took a little longer.." We'll be waiting.