Idgy Vaughn “Origin Story” (Independent 2006)

“Impressive classic country debut”

Debit albums this good are few and far between, and in Idgy Vaughn we may well have one of the household names of the future. She has a clear unadorned voice, with just a hint of a tremor in it, and sounds rather like a poppier Iris Dement. It’s a classic sound and producer and drummer Paul Pearcy has deployed an equally classic Austin country sound behind it. High, light and semi-acoustic with grace notes from steel and slide, it swings like a demon when it has to (“Mister Wrong”) and backs off and fills in the gaps with delicacy and grace when it doesn’t, as with the desperate “Good Enough”. A tale of a daughter losing a mother’s love and recognising that she will never regain it, “Good Enough” is almost too much to listen to, but the power and strength in the narrator pull the listener through. It’s followed by “Pearl of Georgia”, a near-hymn to Vaughn’s daughter that avoids all the dreadful clichés that abound in such songs, and is redemptive and uplifting. These two songs are the album standouts, but “Origin Story” is one of those rare beasts that doesn’t have a weak track.

Although Vaughn owns that the album is unashamedly autobiographical pretty much throughout (bar murder ballad “Dragging The River”), often extremely overtly as with “Midwestern Biography”, there’s no sense of that dreadful “look at me me me!” that you get from lesser performers. Instead, as the story of her life unfolds the listener warms to her and her life, her struggle to succeed (and sometimes just to survive), and s captured by her charm and honesty.

“Origin Story” is an album that could, and should, sell in truckloads. It has a radio-friendly sound, great songs and great music and is a joy throughout.

Date review added:  Friday, March 31, 2006
Reviewer:  Jeremy Searle
Reviewers Rating:
Related web link:  Idgy Vaughn website