Lizzie West and White Buffalo

I�ll begin by describing the place from which I listen...time and place can define the meaning of music as much as the music itself. It�s springtime in the mountains of Western Virginia...the greens are bursting out in varying degrees and shades, a chilly wind blows in from the North, and big, grey-white clouds race across the sky, providing moments of warm sunshine followed by unseasonable cold when the sun disappears. Against this backdrop, Lizzie West�s music seems to be the perfect companion. There are warm moments of song like those found in the album third track "Rope Me and Smoke Me" with it�s reggae beat backed the jazz cool of Vin Gordon�s trombone. Lizzie�s voice is reminiscent of Natalie Merchant throughout but Lizzie adds a warmth and sensuality that is all her own. "If you are going to squeeze me /Juice me and drink me / ...If you are going to grope me / Rope me in and smoke me"...and as the beat rolls on, the springtime sun never felt so good.

Then clouds roll in...with the possibility of stormy weather, with the reminder that for all the bright moments in our lives we have to pause to and take stock of who and where we are. Songs like "19 Miles to Baghdad", with it�s references to a world changed by the events of 9/11 and the subsequent war in Iraq and closes with a question of relevance "What have we become?" or Lizzie�s stunning version of Bob Marley�s "Get Up, Stand Up" that is delivered soaring and warbling and breaks down into a spoken word penned poem before coming to a rest with a honest plea to "stand up for your rights". And finally there�s a version of Steve Goodman�s classic "City of New Orleans", reminding us of the dark clouds of muddy waters that filled the streets of the Crescent City but Lizzie�s voice and Anthony Kieraldo�s piano build to give us a glimpse of the re-birth already taking place...indeed after the clouds have come and gone, the sun makes its return.

"I Pledge Allegiance to Myself" gets political without being preachy, it�s alternative and still accessible to fans of varied tastes, and throughout, the album is filled with poetry, burning questions, and beauty. Lizzie West, the Brooklyn-based songwriter delivers on the follow-up to her acclaimed debut album "Holy Road", and this new record is the perfect companion to any long highway in late spring. As she sings in "Portrait of An Artist of a Young Woman"..."cause with the storm / comes the sun / and with sun / comes the rain / and with the rain / comes the tools / for the world that we create" From where I sit there�s much to be remembered and much to be celebrated and that�s a good thing. This is album is a testament.