Caroline Herring Release of “Camilla”

With compliments, accolades and endorsements from critics and fellow musicians, Signature Sounds recording artist Caroline Herring has emerged as perhaps the most literate and distinctive songwriter of her generation, and one of the freshest voices to hit the music scene in decades. (And I’m not overstating it!) August 28 saw the release of her sixth album, “Camilla,” her best creation to date. “I feel braver on this album,” Herring says, “and I feel it represents me wholly.”

Herring’s songs on this disc are, in her words “perfect little mysteries and powerful, hopeful love stories, but never simple romances.” On “Camilla,’ Herring’s ten, self-penned songs are complex and tradition-filled tales of love and hate and everything in between. It’s her most profound collection of songs yet, reflecting her achievements as a lyrical and inventive songwriter. These are songs whose vocals succeed in moving the listener with her rich vibrato and high trills.

Herring has been compared to Lucinda Williams, Joan Baez, and even Mozart, believe it or not. Herring writes about big, difficult subjects with a grace and precision you will find quickly in “Camilla.” It’s a story of the brutal civil rights struggle in Camilla, Georgia. It’s a tale of one woman’s determination to overcome. It’s history written as verse. Another cut, “Free as a Bird,” is a song from the 1840’s that she mined from the archives and reinterpreted it in her own distinctive style. In April of 2012, Texas Music Magazine named her “Mistress” as one of the top 50 all-time best Texas songs and her album “Twilight” among the top 50 essential Texas records. Herring has earned every one of these accolades, and many more like them.

No less than Mary Chapin Carpenter said: “As a singer, Caroline Herring’s beautiful voice sets her apart and her songwriting is just as distinctive – she takes the listener on a journey with her head and her heart.” Since her debut in 2001, Herring has gained a devoted following and much critical acclaim. Dubbed “Best New Artist” at the Austin Music Awards, Caroline has been profiled on NPR’s “All Things Considered,” been a guest on Garrison Keillor’s “A Prairie Home Companion,” and was the only American representative involved in the prestigious Cecil Sharp Project in England, a group of musicians commissioned to compose music based on the life and collections of Cecil James Sharp, the founding father of the folklore revival in England in the early 20th century.

Jeremy Seal of Maverick Magazine seems to say it best: “From her 2001 debut Twilight to her fourth release Golden Apples of The Sun, she’s never wanted for critical acclaim, but her latest work, “Camilla,” takes things to a whole new level entirely. With music of this caliber, she’s going to be a name to be reckoned with for a long time to come.” To purchase “Camilla” and to hear sound samples, simply click on www.carolineherring.com.

Tags: "Camilla", Austin Music Awards, Entertainment, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Musicians, Texas Music Magazine, “A Prairie Home Companion, ”

Category: Entertainment