9/5/2006

John Shelton Ivany

Fiona Boyes is an Australian country/blues woman who is making her first American debut. Her style of blues hails back to the day before the big country rock bands. On "Celebrate The Curves," she sings about her own beauty and is backed by a rag time sounding group, complete with horns, that really tears down the house. More so, even, that the opening track, "Chicken Wants Corn": a loud, upbeat tale of lusty, bawdy love.

But, Boyes' repertoire does not end there; not by a long shot. She also bares her teeth on, "Good Lord Made You So," which is a slow, low down, 12-bar blues tune with some superbly expressive solo guitar work. Much later, she really blows everyone out of the water with the rockabilly tune, "Rockabilly On The Radio," that breaks away from the close knit styles she had been playing throughout the album and turns the volume up to 11. Fiona Boyes has a flair for the classic, eccentric and all things Americana.