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CD review: Amy Cook ‘Let the Light In’
‘Let the Light In’
(Roothouse Entertainment)
Grade: B
Don’t pick up Austin singer Amy Cook’s “Let the Light In” expecting to hear much of the sound of high-profile producer Alejandro Escovedo — aside from an eleventh-hour, subtle guest vocal on “Moonrise,” a haunting tune that’s one of the album’s best, Escovedo’s production is largely clean and invisible. Don’t expect her other guests — Patty Griffin for the thoughtful and lovelorn “Hotel Lights” and Ben Kweller co-writing “Let’s Go Down to the River” — to represent the sound of “Let the Light In,” either. Don’t even expect to hear much of the sound of Lucinda Williams — it’s a bit of an overplayed comparison, and Cook’s delivery is never quite as raw or nakedly intense as Williams is even at her most disillusioned.
Instead, Cook’s closest comparison, particularly on hopelessly enchanting rockers like “I Wanna Be Your Marianne,” which has an electric guitar solo to kill for, is Sheryl Crow. All the hallmarks are there — the mastery of a good hook, the easy and identifiable way with lyrics, the girl-next-door voice that rarely calls too much attention to itself but always gets the job done. That’s not intended as a slight — there’s a reason Crow’s sold millions of records, and why in a better world Cook would, too. “Let the Light In” doesn’t have a boring spot on it, and while it rarely breaks out and surprises quite as much as you want it too — except on the quirkily spare and eerie “I Like to Go to the Parties” — it’s a tuneful, fun listen.
— Patrick Caldwell
Amy Cook has an in-store performance at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Waterloo Records, 600 N. Lamar Blvd. 474-2500, www.waterloorecords.com. She has a CD release show for ‘Let the Light In’ at 6 p.m. Thursday at Hotel San José, 1316 S. Congress Ave. More at amycook.com.
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