Under branch & thorn & tree

"Crain's songs are often peopled by outsiders struggling against bitter circumstances; Elk City imagines a woman eking out a life in a crumbling town, You or the Mystery addresses a reclusive neighbour found dead in his kitchen. But though many of these songs are racked with sadness, their effect is strangely uplifting. The richness of Crain's voice and the elegant simplicity of the musical arrangements bring drama to these stories. And the striking imagery of her lyrics finds beauty and pathos in the details of downtrodden lives".

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"Her fourth album is full of tales of small-town life, as Crain paints a picture of a deceased neighbour on the delicate folk of 'You Or Mystery', lets her heart break in public on the string-caressed 'When You Come Back' and yearns for escape over the swift acoustic picking of 'Elk City'. A bit of good-time boogie on 'Big Rock' is the only release of tension. Otherwise this is intimate country-folk that's utterly seductive in its stillness".

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