Radigan

Radigan's hypnotic pop disk is one of the most unusual and fascinating to emerge from Nashville in years. Sparked by intelligent covers of Greg Garing's enigmatic "My Love Is Real" and Mark Knopfler's lambent "When It Comes to You," it's deeply distinguished by Radigan's diverse, sensitive originals. Rarely has anyone written as insightful a tune about an affair as the lyrically acute "Everything Starts Out Small" or such entertaining, raffish rock as the wah wah-heavy "50 Kisses," Radigan's guide to roping in a favorite roue. Produced by Kenny Greenberg, Justin Niebank, and Radigan from tracks largely recorded in Radigan's attic studio, the CD abounds with cool touches: the strings-synth-hard guitar swirl of "Blink," the synth coo and lilt in Radigan's knowing "The Things You'll Do," and the "phoned-in vocal" on the velvet hammer tune, "So What." The disc's uniform, creamy texture and its concerns -- fidelity, sexuality, creativity, and the way they can get in each other's way -- evoke Fleetwood Mac records of the mid-'70s, when the relationships of the band members gave their music extra emotional resonance. Radigan sings with patience, authority, and smoothness, evoking a huskier Jackie DeShannon, one of the silkiest singers of the '60s. She also plays guitars, banjo, and keyboards and programs drums. A former member of late-'80s New York band Grace Pool, the Brooklyn native now lives in Nashville and has written for Patty Loveless and Trisha Yearwood. This simultaneously mysterious and accessible CD establishes Terry Radigan as a major artist in her own right. ~ Carlo Wolff