Who Shot Elvis?

Album Review

Vocalist Jean Smith relates tales in a way that is as tortured as their content. As pained as PJ Harvey, she is also more contralto and unpolished as a vocalist. This bestows upon the listener an immediate feeling of authenticity. We are firsthand witnesses to a very personal experience. The other half of the duo, guitarist David Lester, provides instrumental support that is basic and apt. He amplifies the mood of the song and succinctly frames Jean's narrow-range delivery. The pair sees their music further enhanced by drums, a but more guitar (electric slide from Smith herself on three pieces) and a dash of piano on the particularly desolate and emotional "The Way of Love." Jean provides the salient expression on this recording, one of a bruised soul exposed. After a decade of recording, it is a credit that the album is the pure catharsis many groups only achieve on their debut.