Barricades & Brickwalls

Average Rating:	(See all reviews)
Label:	Warner Bros. Records (Record Lab

• Personnel includes: Kasey Chambers (vocals, acoustic guitar); Camile Te Naha, (vocals); James Gillard (acoustic guitar); Dave Steel, Mark Punch (guitar); Kym Warner (mandolin); David Henry (cello); Jeff McCormick (bass); BJ Barker (drums); Senseel Desilva (percussion); The Living End, Paul Kelly, Matthew Ryan, Buddy Miller, Lucinda Williams.
  
• Recorded in Nashville, Tennessee.
  
• Building on the out-of-left-field success of her debut THE CAPTAIN, Kasey Chambers kicks any thought of a sophomore jinx square in the teeth with BARRICADES & BRICKWALLS, yet another fine batch of songs steeped in the sounds of American roots music. The trappings of newfound fame and fortune find the twenty-something Aussie examining it from the inside out (the heartfelt "This Mountain") as well as taking a wistful look back at an innocent childhood spent in the rural Australian outback ("Nullabor Song"). Complementing her introspective lyrics is a raspy twang that falls somewhere between Lucinda Williams (who appears on the high lonesome outing "On A Bad Day") and Iris Dement. All the better for Chambers to yodel her way through the jaunty, Hank Williams-inspired "I'm A Little Bit Lonesome" (featuring Buddy Miller's harmonies) and deliver a spot-on cover of Gram Parsons' "Still Feeling Blue."
  
• Other highlights include the rambling, Fred Eaglesmith-influenced "Runaway Train," jaunty rock & roll of "Crossfire" (with Aussie rockers The Living End) plus ethereal duets with Paul Kelly ("I Still Pray") and Matthew Ryan ("A Million Tears"). Chambers' heartfelt passion especially resonates on the moving hidden track "Ignorance," a rant against societal ills.
  

Spin (2/02, p.109) - 8 out of 10 - "...Well-executed genre exercises in alt-country...aligning more closely with folk music than with indie rock..."

Entertainment Weekly (2/15/02, pp.65-6) - "...These tracks are pleasant, pretty, and immaculately perfromed, and Chambers' voice is a strong but restrained instrument..." - Rating: B

Q (May 2002, p.108) - 3 out of 5 stars - "...[Chambers has] a feisty way with word and tune....she trundles along with the rickshaw efficiency of her heroine, Lucinda Williams..."

Mojo (Publisher) (5/02, p.98) - "...She has a remarkably strong country voice, powerful, sweet, with a lonesome catch..."

Producer:	Nash Chambers
Format:	CD (1 Disc); Stereo
Country:	USA
UPC:	093624802822
Studio/Live:	Studio
Release Date:	12 February 2002