Dreaming in Romance Languages

It's hard to imagine anyone with even the slightest tolerance for rootsy singer/songwriter rock & roll not falling immediately under the spell of Catie Curtis, a Boston-based artist whose albums and live performances have been building her a substantial regional and national following over the past 15 years. Her fifth album is, thankfully, nothing substantially new: just a solid program of sturdy, sometimes anthemic, and occasionally darkly cathartic songs that chug along with the help of acoustic and electric guitars, the occasional Hammond organ or accordion, tasteful drums, and even a rhythm loop or two. Curtis is starting to rely a bit too much on one particular yodelly vocal trick, but other than that, her voice and delivery are perfectly suited to the material: on songs like "Hold On," "Saint Lucy," and a deeply affecting cover of the late Mark Sandman's "Night," she hits all the notes just right while making it sound as if she's not really trying to hit the notes at all. "Cross Over to Me," which Curtis wrote in collaboration with Beth Nielsen Chapman, is an artful expression of romantic yearning, and "Doctor" is an artless expression of dissatisfaction with a cruel world. All in all, this is a solid and satisfying effort from one of the folk-rock scene's more impressive singer/songwriters. ~ Rick Anderson