Alicia Keister: Press

Harrisburg native Alicia Keister’s Heartwood is a fashionable little folk debut containing influences from Mary Chapin Carpenter ("Maybe") to a younger Lucinda Williams ("Find A Way"). This album makes it clear that the female singer/songwriter genre will flourish for another generation. With Joni Mitchell throwing her hat back in the ring, Keister has a founding member of the elite to keep the light shining, and half way through Heartwood it seems she’s up for the task.

The only real downfall is the familiarity of the music on a couple of tracks; lyrically this bump in the road is cushioned by her knack for writing. This isn’t a negative quality, merely something the artist should be wary of down the road.

“Breakdown” and “Tonight” are the stand-out tracks with “Breakdown” having a foot stomping upbeat tempo and both sharing a radio-friendly sound; Keister can do herself some favors by pushing these heavily.

Heartwood hints at a quite a bit of potential from a possible music starlet in the making.

Local singer/songwriter Alicia Keister's second album, "Heartwood," is a valiant attempt to capture a folksy lyrical sound. With vocals reminiscent of Shawn Colvin, Keister uses guitar-driven melody behind peppy feel-good lyrics.

The album is a good mix of upbeat and slower rhythm with ever-introspective lyrics. Dwelling on spirituality, Keister sometimes falls ito over-used Christian themes (candle in the darkenss imagery, crooked paths, etc.), but overall her strength is in the steady guitar and country sound.

She's at her best the closer she leans toward country on tracks such as "Trouble" and "I Have You," almost starting off like Lee Ann Womack on the latter. When she departs from teh genre, in tracks such as "Open Your Heart," Keister falls just short of a strong folk album and ends up souding like the weak pop that filled the sound of tracks of 1990s TV shows and still plays on soft-rock stations.

The only track that veers from country and still works is "When You Come." It has a slow haunting melody, carried by the piano behind Keister's voice. The instrumentals are simple, but definately the strong point of this song, making it the highlight of the album.

Though "Heartwood" falls just short of its folk endeavors, fans of "Point of Grace" and late '90s contemporary Christian music in general will enjoy this album.

Alicia Keister has a pure and unaffected voice that is nicely complemented by the tasteful and unobrusive arrangements on the 10-song Heartwood. Jason Shaffer of Grantham Road was apparently instrumental (pun intended) in most aspects of bringing Keister's vision to fruition. His mastery of bass (fretless and fretted) and guitar (12-string, slide, electrict, etc.) is the unimposing but fully necessary foundation of this record. Keister's songs are solid, with a confident maturity in their structuring and melody, yet I suspect they would be significantly less interesting if they were stripped of the spot-on production.

Heartwood, while it certainly makes no strides toward anything groundbreaking or inventive, is a solid AAA (adult album alternative) record. This is the kind of album and artist that radio stations like Philadelphia's WXPN were created for. The music is essentially folk with rock and hints of country, especially in the arrangements. The arrangements are so smooth and polished, however, that there are times where the gloss makes the songs a bit less interesting than they could be. Keister's vocal delivery is so smooth and safe with a mild vibrato that she doesn't communicate any intense pathos most of the time. Instead, the songs have a pleasantly sentimental quality that evoke warm sweaters on a windy autumn day. For the most part, the sentimentality comes across as being genuine and not too saccharine, despite the polished production and performance. There are a few exceptions, like "Open Your Heart," which has background vocals that push it just a bit over the edge into easy-listening territory.

There are a few apparent influences instrumentally and vocally. Some of the countrified guitar work reminds me a bit of the clean, crisp playing that one finds on Buddy and Julie Miller records, or the many records that Buddy produces and plays on, including those of Lucinda Williams. Keister is influenced by Patty Griffin, and Beth Amsel and others of that ilk, but she is wise to sing in a straightforward manner that doesn't too overtly reference them. The quality and delivery of her voice, while not altogether unique, is her own. She sings with a subtle confidence that lends an authenticity to the songs even if they could use a ilttle roughing up to make the emotional connection more affecting.
Keister's faith and background in Christian-oriented music is laced throughout Heartwood in a tasteful way that actually feels appropriate with the overall tranquil attitude of the record. In the end, Keister with a boost from Shaffer, has crafted a mature and listenable light folk record in Heartwood.

This lady has a beautiful and dynamic voice. The four
songs on this ep are about life from a spiritual
perspective. Acoustic arrangements, spiritual lyrics
and skillful vocals are what you get. She’s a mild
mannered music teacher and songwriter by day and a
seasoned and entertaining solo artist by night. A
former member of At His Feet as well as Fade Forward,
she’s spent some time in front of an audience. Flying
solo came quite natural for her and she has been
heralded as “a stunningly talented young artist”.
“Distant Light” is just a glimpse of what’s to come.

Distant Light is a 4-track EP by Pennsylvania singer/songwriter Alicia Keister. The album is a forerunner to her full-length CD, due out in July 2006. You'll find three original songs on this one, written by Keister and songwriting partner James Brumbaugh. The last track on the album, "Gloria," is a cover song, written by Nathan and Christy Nockels.

Track 1, "Mirror Check," has some interesting and thought-provoking lyrics relating to the constant internal struggle with good and evil:

Goodbye Holy Angel; hello Son of Sam
It's hard to tell each moment which one of you I am
Shrouded in duplicity in my word and deed
Creating this disparity between what I want and what I really need ...

Track 2, "Distant Light," is by far my favorite track. Keister uses the lower range of her voice, which highlights the feeling of the lyrics, which reflect a faith in God and a sense of peace.

Track 3, "This Old Man," brings some skilled guitar playing forward and puts out a message of salvation. The old man in the song learns that money isn't the road to happiness -- but the song is not overly preachy, and the music is good.

The cover song, "Gloria," melds well with the other songs on the album, but I prefer the first three tracks. I like when singers do their own music. Keister's voice seems to ring forth the truth she seeks best when she is behind the wheel of the lyrics on which she has collaborated.

I liked the sense of faith and God on the CD. It seems to be very genuine and lacks the "preachy" feel that can put some people off. Keister seems like she is ready for the ride, and by this time next year we should see her shine in her new full-length album.

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