Kim Richey spent the initial portion of her 15-year career chafing at various stylistic restraints, some self-imposed, others foisted upon her by others. Through the second half of the ’90s, the itinerant daughter of a Dayton, Ohio, record-store owner sampled and discarded various guises: new-country misfit (1995’s Nashville-friendly self-titled debut), Lucinda Williams in waiting (1997’s calculated Americana stab Bittersweet) and top-40 hopeful (1999’s super-slick Glimmer). And while those albums had at least two things in common—great songwriting and a soulful, not-in-the-least-bit-showy vocal approach—it wasn’t until more recently that Richey locked into a groove all her own. That in mind, Wreck Your Wheels (Thirty Tigers), her sixth and latest release, finds the artist reveling in a friction-free comfort zone somewhere along the well-read, emotionally honest folk/pop continuum. Richey will be guest-editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with her.
Richey: Most definitely my favorite time of year. Wearing your favorite sweater, a reprieve from summer heat, opening up the windows and letting the cool air in at night, Halloween, fall colors, Thanksgiving, cider, thunderstorms, the first fire in the fireplace, time to cook stews and soups, baking now that it’s finally not too hot to have the oven on. Fall reminds me of dusk, also a favorite time. It’s the bridge between summer/light and winter/dark. Low, golden light.
Video after the jump.
