American Jitters

A lot of folks first got the word about Lisa Marr when fellow Canadian with alt-country tendencies Neko Case covered her song "In California" (from the debut Lisa Marr Experiment album 4 AM) on her EP Canadian Amp, and actually Marr and Case would make a pretty good musical match. While Marr lacks Case's wondrously clear pipes, she has a fine, strong voice that serves up both rock & roll and honky tonk tunes with equal skill, and in Marr's lyrical world things tend to go wrong as often as they go right. The 16 songs on Marr's second album, American Jitters, veer back and forth between high-energy country, full-bodied rock & roll, and edgy pop, and Marr and her band sound comfortable and accomplished regardless of genre (especially second-in-command Mike Flanagan, who takes over lead vocals on a few cuts). Unlike many latter-day twang-oriented acts, Marr and company don't aim for camp or misery for its own sake; on American Jitters, the busted relationships, bruised feelings, and general malaise over the current state of their lives is the sound of normal folks trying to make the best of what the fates have given them, and these songs ring true with the honest expression of a lived life and a hard-won sense of humor. American Jitters certainly matches the quality of 4 AM, and leaves no doubt that Marr has the makings of a major artist if she can get herself heard by a wider audience. ~ Mark Deming