Dirty Linen December2008/January/February2009

“No Small Thing”
(BirdsTale Records, 2008)

After three albums – two under the name of Tory Voodoo and one under the re-christened Tammerlin ----songwriter Lee Hunter and string whiz Arvid Smith shifted their focus from less of a Celtic folk/artsy, world percussion bent to more of a Americana/folksy direction with a heavier concentration in songwriting. Their fourth album, 2005’s One Kind Favor, represented the genesis of their redesign with more varied arrangements. Now, their fifth overall release not only picks up where Favor left off, but finds Hunter’s songs basking in a magic all their own (“Autumn Refrain,” “Farewell Sad Shore”). Her warm, delicate voice is naturally reassuring and somewhat alluring, as evidenced by “Meet Me in New Orleans” and the title track. In addition to her originals, which include Smith’s electric guitar rock ‘n’ roll stylings on “You Don’t Fool Me,” there’s an infectious, acoustic reading of Blind Faith’s “Can’t Find My Way Home” and the haunting Irish tinker’s ballad “Leaves of Life.” On contrast to the latter, the Scottish love song “I Once Loved a Lass” has more of a contemporary feel and features Hunter on piano, with special guests violinist Darol Anger and upright bassist Byron House. “Cross Currents,” an instrumental (there should have been more of those), finds Smith conjuring up a brief, mind-altering, mystical interlude with his 12-string guitar and tanpurists ,Chandra and David Courtney. A solid step forward.

Dan Willging (Denver, CO)