release date: august 19, 2008
label: Basin Street Records
03-02-09 review by: APC

Truth be told, I was a little skeptical of Theresa Andersson. I've held a contempt for the New Orleans "roots rock/funk" scene since I moved here almost a decade ago, mainly because it just seemed so boring and old. I know, I know... the reason people like New Orleans so much is because it keeps that old flavor with it, and that just seems to funk up everything and make it better. But... it can get kind of, well, stale. I just don't know how many times a local can get down to the Radiators at Tipitina's, or listen to Walter Wolfman Washington, or get lost in the jams of Anders Osborne on Frenchmen St. before they start to feel like they're seeing the same thing over and over again.

What I first knew of Theresa Andersson's music was very similar to those experiences: tepid at best. All of them, including her, are great musicians, and killing it on what they do, but what they were (and most still are...) doing was treading water in a sea of mediocre adult contemporary rock or funk.

With the new album Hummingbird, Go!, Ms. Andersson has stepped away from the pack. No longer a sidewoman, and no longer trying to be a New Orleans songstress, she has found a niche in the newly created musical world for quirky, acoustic, freak-folk artists, and has succeeded. Amazingly, she does it all by herself. In the studio, that can be a challenge but it's doable; live, it's considerably harder, where she is alone on stage, with just her instruments and a zillion loop pedals, all timed perfectly to make each beautiful song go off without a hitch.

The album really catches her talent for songwriting and performance, and is helped by the sparse and intricate production of Tobias Froberg. She's been garnering praise nationally, and I am glad to say that it is about time.

check it:
more by APC
Theresa Andersson's website
The Basin St. Records website

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