Chinese Boxes

Chinese Boxes

Big name country artists such as Trisha Yearwood, Patty Loveless and the Dixie Chicks turn Kim Richey’s songs into hits. Her tunes are thoughtful and catchy, never overwrought and often deceptively simple. Chinese Boxes is Richey’s first album of new material since 2002’s Rise and with producer Giles Martin (son of famed Beatles producer George Martin) overseeing things, the songs are elegantly outfitted with an eclectic array of accessories, from the mellotron and orchestration that accompanies “Drift” to the Fender Rhodes and vibes that haunt the pop-infused “I Will Follow.” Richey’s laidback style occasionally drifts towards easy listening with “The Absence of Your Company,” but it’s this unhurried approach that allows her to say more with less. Organ, acoustic guitar, and the usual suspects support the uncomplicated framework with an unexpected flute or mandolin accentuating the circumstances that repel from drama but satisfy with commonplace longing and dissatisfaction. “Turn Me Slowly” leans towards country. “Not a Love Like This” winks at hard rock. But the commitment for this songwriter remains with the song.

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