I could have easily dismissed Kathy Muir as just another singer songwriter of the polished west coast (of America) variety as thoroughness of research is normally something I like to avoid but the truth is out there should you or I actually look. She might well be in Connecticut now but she actually comes from Edinburgh and, as always, it’s good to see someone escape that particular misfortune.
Whether Kathy Muir is a wife in Connecticut these days is open to conjecture although the songs on her album do have that kind of relationship poetry that you might expect of someone like Carly Simon. She is not as direct and confessional however and, whilst her words undoubtedly come straight from the heart, she also never really seems to have the enthusiasm to take her songs too far from their acoustic roots. Intimacy is, of course, commendable but a song like “Back To You” suffers somewhat from that understated approach to the point that some may find themselves considering her unadventurous although, all things considered, the Nashville centred “Ride These Times” and the scaled up emotions of “Softly” provide much better examples of what Kathy Muir can do when given a box of matches.
The journey from Edinburgh to Connecticut clearly has not spoiled Kathy Muir and her album has a maturity that many an easy going ear will find appealing.
“Book Cover Judge” is available from Bandcamp.