CMT Blog: Archive

One of the most charming singer-songwriters in town, Elizabeth Cook always manages to surprise me. On her new album, Welder, her off-kilter personality is still on full display but I think she's writing in a more direct manner than she ever has. It's challenging for me to write about intimately personal songs like "Mama's Funeral," because Cook has pretty much already described the whole day in precise detail. Although she writes specifically about her own experience, that song reminds me of the family funerals I've attended -- being incredibly sad inside, yet smiling as I think of all the funny stories that will linger in my mind long after the burial. She's equally forthright in a song called "Heroin Addict Sister" that cuts right to the bone. (In a recent NPR story, Cook declines to elaborate.) My favorite song, I have to admit, is the lighthearted "El Camino." The crunchy guitars lead into a catchy narrative about getting romantically involved with the wrong kind of guy -- mullet and all. In lesser hands, this would be a throw-away novelty but sung in Cook's country voice, the whole story hilariously unfolds in all its psychedelic glory. I guess you can't predict who you'll fall in love with, but hey, I like surprises.