The album cover confirms the suspicions: Patty Griffin's seventh studio album is steeped in American folk. The Grammy winner started writing American Kid while she learned that her father was dying. Griffin's father served as a soldier during World War II, and his life is the common thread on American Kid. The album is not depressed, despite the fact that the sadness her father's death brought her
… is definitely noticeable. This can mainly be heard on the heartbreaking closing song Gonna Miss You When You're Gone. In the run-up to that final piece, Griffin tells poignant stories about faith, love, family life and meaning. At a rare moment Griffin throws the brakes off, for example on the country-like Please Don't Let Me Die In Florida, but on the whole Griffin stays close to herself with subdued folk songs, which especially show the respect for her father's generation. (BvdV)more
