Nellie McKay - Sister Orchid

Conjuring the image of a lonely all night truck stop along highway 1 on the California coast, all but lost in the fog that comes creeping along the shoreline... this album speaks of the night, the outsider, the plaintive wail of those lost at sea. Sister Orchid was conceived in solitude, executed in darkness. It comes from a place of quiet, a world of low lights and cool drinks, up against a hard wall. An oasis of hungry eyes and easy promises, warm as a biscuit, the kind of place your mother warned you against. "McKay accompanies herself on the album, not only playing piano, her main instrument, but also ukulele, harmonica, celeste and even a bit of harp and cello," writes NPR. "As producer, she makes judicious use of overdubs and sound design, incorporating cinematic atmosphere on a couple of tracks. Along with "Nearness," her track list includes flickering old standards like "My Romance" and "In a Sentimental Mood," raising the possibility that this is an album about love in it's various forms and stages. But McKay also includes the non-romantic Carmichael tune "Lazybones," and "Small Day Tomorrow," a semi-obscurity by Bob Dorough and Fran Landesman."