Gavin Magazine (July 1996)

KRISTEN BARRY

The term singer-songwriter usually conjures up images of a musician playing acoustic guitar in a coffee house. Not so with Kristen Barry, who appears to be cut more from the classic, electric guitar wielding cloth that drapes Neil Young than from that of latte sippin' troubadours.

Barry's Virgin debut, The Beginning the Middle the End, is brimming with six-string driven minimalism that works as a showcase for her strong vocals. Scathing, ragged guitar accompanies her every whisper, wail, and earnest utterance. Tracks like "Nothing's Too Good; "Seeing Gun," and "Big Girl" are rife with jagged and rusty powder-keg guitar crunch. On the lyrical side of things, Barry delivers no-nonsense verse in a gruff-yet-feminine growl.

Barry's live show should prove to be a powerful experience, thanks to a musical presence that is both intense and mesmerizing.

SATURDAY 7/27
The Great American Music Hall
9 p.m.
850 O'Farrell Street