Alt country rocker Erica Blinn has been performing since the age of 14, when she began playing the harmonica in Columbus bars. However, after keeping in touch with the band Watershed, she was introduced to Mike Landolt, who produced groups like O.A.R. and Maroon 5. She has released one eponymous EP, with Lovers In The Dust as her first full-length record.
The album opens with “Whiskey Kisses,” which immediately and unexpectedly starts off with the chorus as well as guitars and a tangy piano riff. “Pull The Trigger” has a more rock and roll kind of melody, with Blinn urging the listener in her raw, country voice to, “Pull the trigger and dive right in,” metaphorically, of course. This is not so different from “Home,” which begins with a screeching guitar/harmonica intro and is the fastest-paced song on the LP. Decelerating a little with the title-track, Blinn chronicles her unfortunate encounter with love, which was sabotaged by a rumor and her own complacency. Not including the 30-second “Whiskey Kisses (Reprise),” the release ends with “One Of These Days,” a slow apology to a past boyfriend.
Lovers In The Dust is a well-done tribute to the great country rock by legends such as The Eagles and The Allman Brothers, but with a feminine twist. The record genre-jumps a little, with some tracks seeming more like pop and others like pure Americana. On the whole, though, the album can be summed up as an edgier edition of whiskey-soaked country music.
In A Word: Spirited
