CMT Blog: Archive

Late last year when I was on vacation in Seattle, I happened to catch a show by Zoe Muth at the esteemed Tractor Tavern, which is perhaps the Pacific Northwest's most famous alt-country venue. She seemed shy on stage, but her sad country songs were destroying me. I bought her EP, intrigued with her easygoing, '70s-sounding, steel-guitar-laced tunes. After the show I asked her, as a fan more than as a reporter, to please keep me posted on the progress of her first full-length album. Lo and behold, it arrived last week, and I've listened to it almost every day since then, never skipping over a track. If your own favorite country singers came from the vinyl era, don't let this one pass you by. (You can hear some of the tunes on her MySpace page.)

Backed by the Lost High Rollers, Muth sings traditional country music without a chip on her shoulder about Nashville. And she doesn't list all the reasons she's country. Instead, she focuses on the tried-and-true topics: disappointment, getting dumped, trying to make enough money to live on, etc. Plus, the twangy instruments are crisp and easy to hear. In other words, the self-titled album is well-produced -- but not overproduced. And I love this lyric: "I've done 50 percent on a bottle of 100-proof." Only a country songwriter could get away with that.

In this brief feature story, the Seattle Weekly refers to her as "Our Own Emmylou." Aw, that's a sweet thing to say. I wish I could see her at the Tractor Tavern again later this month when the club celebrates its 15th anniversary. But if she ever gets to Nashville, perhaps on her own vacation, all of my friends in Nashville who enjoy traditional country music will greet her with open arms.