Lost and Found

Folk audiences were overjoyed when Texan singer/songwriter Lucinda Williams gained well-deserved national attention with her albums Car Wheels on a Gravel Road and Essence. If there is any justice in the music industry, Eliza Gilkyson's 2002 Red House Records release, Lost and Found, will give her the same exposure. Both women have paid their dues not only as performers, but also as daughters, lovers, and human beings, and these elements are reflected in the honesty of their songs. Gilkyson's beautifully rough voice seeps emotion on the sensual love song "Fall into the Night" and effectively recounts hard livin' on the road song "Easy Rider." She is joined on the album by Patty Griffin, Slaid Cleaves, and her brother Tony Gilkyson (formerly of the band X), who each add subtle and unobtrusive textures to Gilkyson's darkly melodic poems. Co-producer Mark Hallman performed a great service by keeping the songs stripped down and a little bare, making each note important and every word stand alone.