Someplace Far Away from Here

This disc starts out with a stadium rocker titled "It Only Gets Better," and the same can be said of this whole disc. The CD carries a broad range of the Sisters' music, from the above stadium rocker to a style of country with the close, tight vocals that are now all the fad, and to the Rancheras of their Mexican-American heritage. They sing in English and Spanish with equal ease, perfectly at home in both languages. Their vocals are tight; they can be so interwoven that it becomes as tough to separate them as it would be to split a hair lengthways. Their voices weave around each other in a way that almost none but those of siblings can. They seem to hear and anticipate each other with a voice that is only audible from within the heart, but they bring that inner voice outside for their listeners to hear. This newest of their discs features eight English language songs, four of which were written by each of the sisters, and three Spanish language pieces. After an upbringing in Tucson, AZ, the sisters moved to a Houston, TX base, and they have blended the sounds of those two bases and families with all the land and music that stretches in between. They had a go with the Nashville scene, and the story is that the suits there tried to change everything about the girls into their concept of what they thought should be the sisters' image. Those same suits are probably dusty from kicking themselves all over the West Texas plains after hearing this disc; listening to the twangy sounds in "Your Turn to Cry" or the country rocker "Too Deep of Water," they likely wanted to put their spurs on after realizing what got away. The Sisters have a hidden weapon, that is Lisa Morales' husband, David Spencer. He is probably one of the best unknown guitarists around to date. His sound, whether on electric lead, steel guitar, or acoustic guitar, is a very strong part of this music. The tight band plays shows that they have profited from playing together since their initial disc, Ain't No Perfect Diamond, in 1997. The real differences between that disc and this one is improvements in songwriting, in the sisters' voices, and in the band's ability to propel the music. This is one of those gems that amply rewards the listeners who spend the time searching for it. There is a lot of talent here.