Then it was off to New York City for this intrepid
performer where she found herself taken in by a fly-by-night vaudeville troupe
where she sang and danced, diversifying her palette even more. Trips to the
West Indies followed along with experiments in Venice Beach, which eventually
led her to a dual life within Los Angeles and Seattle. There she began establishing herself as a
spoken word performer before publishing a book of poetry and engaging in a
promising career in voice acting, voicing characters within World of Warcraft
and Honey West alongside scoring solid reviews for her narration of audiobook
titles.
And it was yet another new journey, this time to
Austin, Texas, that truly drew the artist back into her music as she became
immersed and smitten by the sounds of Americana. And drawing her poetic
background together with those newfound loves has resulted in the artist’s
debut EP, Only An Angel.
Keeping with those poetic sensibilities, McDuffie’s
songwriting through these six tracks seems more intent upon conjuring emotion,
drawing listeners into deeper places of feeling, rather than going the more traditional
folk route of telling stories and offering a narrative. It’s a key point to Only An Angel and the artist pulls it off
well, offering up smoldering notes of sensuality on tracks like “Hot Sun of the
Summer” and hints of adventure and playfulness on “Stand Below Heaven.”
Sonically, her music reflects her diverse lifestyle
as well, drawing from her plethora of travels to create a sound that is at once
warm and familiar while still new and intriguing. “Hot Sun of the Summer” is a
moodier arrangement, understated guitar and heavy percussive notes building the
tension while “Fly Away” samples from a Tejano template, the Latin rhythms
succinctly framing the lighthearted vocal and lyric. Of course, “My Favorite
Place in Texas” is through and through Americana, rich swells of steel guitar
accompanying rhythmic acoustic guitar and perfect pops of percussion.
The result is ultimately a promising release from an
immensely talented artist in Carrington McDuffie. Throughout these six tracks,
McDuffie manages to conjure six solid Americana-flavored tracks that stay true
to the genre while allowing the artist’s signature voice to shine through her
lyrics and compositions. It’s an all in all success and will no doubt prove to
be music to the ears on many an Americana lover.
