Louisiana singer / songwriter Mary Gauthier broke through in 2001 with the beautiful album Drag Queens In Limousines. On that record she sang about her life among the alcoholics, hookers and junkies on the fringes of American society. Listening to the follow-up Filth & Fire (2002) it seems as if the success has done her good, because the eleven new songs on this CD sound a little less pessimistic.
However, her fans should not be alarmed: life is still no fun and it is not for nothing that she still describes her music as 'country noir'. She tells us again some beautiful raw stories that you immediately want to assume that she actually experienced them. Nice examples of this are Merry Go Round, Camelot Motel and Christmas In Paradise. Producer Gurf Morlix (he previously worked with ao Lucinda Williams, Slaid Cleaves and Buddy Miller) knows exactly how to give the album that dark, ominous atmosphere that fits Gautier's lyrics. Partly because of this Filth & Fire is one of the Americana highlights of 2002. (MvP)more
