Kristina Murray’s origins in Atlanta Georgia, winding up the long road to the Colorado Front Range where she lives now, can be heard explicitly in the music she creates. Part traditional country, part-rock & roll, the eleven tracks on her debut LP ‘Unravelin’’ take a journey through alt. country, honky-tonk and southern rock, rolling around to what can only be broadly described as Americana, such is the variety of her influences. She notes this herself, “I’ve been turned away from venues and radio stations before… some who say, “you’re too country for us” and others who say, “you’re too rock roll for us.” Sure. That’s fine, both ways,” she says. “Some may think this a disadvantage, but I don’t want to pigeon hole myself. And, again, why let any of my influences and what I hear and want to write/play/sing, be kept in the dark? I think it makes for an interesting blend for both the band and the listener.”
It could easily be argued, in fact, that the only interesting artists are those who draw from their roots into something more detailed and with fuller flavor, paying tribute to the complex structure of influences that we all have, whether artists or just fans. After all, someone who spends their life listening to an extremely narrow spectrum of music is one less worldly, something that Kristina certainly is not. The variety of sounds she represents does not take away from the quality and authenticity of each carefully interwoven thing so much as it strengthens her case for being a very talented musician. “I have an intense love and appreciation for legends like George Jones and Loretta Lynn,” Kristina notes. “But am also influenced by acts like The Band, the Stones, The Allman Brothers, Ryan Bingham, and the Drive –By Truckers, and then again by singer-songwriters like Guy Clark, Hayes Carll and Lucinda Williams.” When considered in detail, this list begins to make more sense, and actually reveals ‘Unravelin’’ as not so much of a bounce between two or three sounds but as a whole new beast, literally unravelling the more we listen to it, showcasing its combined measures as they separate.
Recorded between 2012 and 2013 and produced, mixed and mastered by Darren Radach, the primary focus point on ‘Unravelin’’ turns out, beyond all its incorporation of various influences, to be Kristina’s voice itself. Soulful, and with the gentle twang of the country that simply cannot be faked, the joy of it is in its semi-melodic, but also husky, haunting qualities. There’s something in the way that old-fashioned country style makes her delivery subdued, restrained, so effortlessly nostalgic yet so natural. From the more resolute performances on ‘Half Empty’ and opener ‘Smoke And Brown Whiskey’, to the at once aching yet strangely almost emotionless laments of ‘One More Year’ and the title cut, she remains consistently true to the style that birthed her artistry; not only does she remind of the greats, but equally she might be mistaken for one upon listening alone.
Throughout her lyrics are well-constructed too, with plenty to say. Closer ‘Carolina Sea’ references the death of her father, and while two of the other tracks also do this Kristina muses that this is her favorite. It’s classic in the way it deals with tragedy so adeptly and yet so matter-of-factly, drawing comparisons to the folk songs of old, while other songs sir perfectly within honky tonk, such as ‘Lights Out For The Lonesome’, and the neotraditional style present through the 1980’s and 1990’s, as in ‘The Year Georgia Ran Dry’, building upon a storytelling aspect that she pulls off so effectively.
Yet what’s so significant about this record is how absolutely country it feels from start to finish. Contrasting dramatically with the mainstream country currently on the radio, any true country fan would find it hard to dislike this effort, which has picked up praise from such publications as No Depression, Wild American Radio, and The Alternate Root, as well as numerous local magazines to her home of Colorado. “Throughout the record, I think there is a theme of heartbreak and sadness, but also, a constant of the characters getting up, brushing off, and pressing on, because, honestly, what else can you do?” Kristina says. She’s right – and the strength of those characters through hardship is the one thing that makes it so quintessentially country beyond all sonic offerings. All her characters may be unraveling in various ways, but Kristina standing cool and collected on top of it all.
