Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
Pure, honest and completely unadorned [Edith Grove] makes listeners imagine flat, wheat-filled landscapes or rolling green hills disappearing along with the asphalt grittiness of another highway. - Kevin Hopper
Cravin' Love for Blazin' Speed is an impressive debut. Its tight songwriting and sound - and flawless packaging - indicate that Edith Grove is the kind of group you may see soaring beyond the confines of the Albuquerque music scene. - Daily Lobo
The sound is reminiscent of the Indigo Girls and is a lot of fun to listen to. The band has a meticulous professional side that is revealed in the attention to detail given to the website, CD and the gigs they play. - Cheryl Hooks
AMERICANA BAND EDITH GROVE RELEASES SECOND ALBUM,
“HIGHWAY OF DIAMONDS”
New album by mostly female band features cello and vocal harmonies on 12 songs that explore the gritty roads and whiskey-laden back lanes of Americana music.
(Albuquerque, NM) Recorded by Brett Sparks of the Handsome Family at Handsome Family Studios in Albuquerque, NM, “Highway of Diamonds” finds Edith Grove filtering their rock, country and folk roots through Amanda Kooser’s distinctively lyrical songwriting lens. Her original songs share the stage with two reworked traditionals: “Man of Constant Sorrow” and “Rye Whiskey.” Themes of travel, heartbreak, trains and whiskey flow across the album and tie the songs together.
Edith Grove explores the borders of Americana by revisiting the tale of Romeo and Juliet in “Lovers Always Run Before the Clock” and even stretching across the ocean and time to retell the story of Hitler’s clairvoyant in “Fire Eater.” In “Jonas” a young man finds his fate at the hands of an infamous hanging judge in the 1800s in Arkansas. It’s an updated take on the old genre of the murder ballad.
Guest musicians fill in on pedal steel, violin, banjo, dobro and blues harp, adding layers to songs like “Rye Whiskey” and “Darlin’.” Flowing cello lines and Kooser’s world-weary voice are etched across every song. Ultimately, “Highway of Diamonds” searches for solace in the sound of train wheels on metal and seeks hope and redemption between the lines of the road.
“Highway of Diamonds” will be available in spring 2006.
Edith Grove is: Amanda Kooser (guitar, vocals), Suzanne Shelton (cello, vocals), Regina Chavez (drums, vocals), Chris Frain (bass)
Americana music to take you down the back roads.
Photos, interviews and further information available on request.
- Edith Grove
Discography
2003 - Cravin' Love for Blazin' Speed, debut album
2006 - Highway of Diamonds, Spring 2006 - advance copies available
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Murder ballads, the Rolling Stones and Vivaldi all meet up on the Americana frontier. Heartbreak, rye whiskey and wheels that won't quit turning are etched across the songs on Edith Grove's second album, Highway of Diamonds. This high energy band takes the audience back to the 1800s in Arkansas as Hanging Judge Parker takes another life and then fast forwards to a rain soaked New Mexico highway that splits through the Plains of St. Augustine.
Edith Grove takes influences ranging from Dylan to traditional folk to classical music and forges their own identity. This is a musical world where the trains never stop running, the whiskey bottle is never empty and old cars always have a few more miles left in them. Three-part harmonies, soaring cello lines and Amanda Kooser's world weary voice trademark a band that reinvents traditional Americana themes in songs that sound both contemporary and timeless. They have played a variety of gigs from festivals to club shows to opening for Crosby, Stills & Nash.
Edith Grove's new album, Highway of Diamonds, was recorded by Brett Sparks of the Handsome Family at Handsome Family Studios in Albuquerque, NM.
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