Norma MacDonald
The Forest for the Trees
(indie)
Here’s an ache you can’t shake, with more country pain in Norma MacDonald’s voice than you may wish to explore. The tightest landing of her many metaphors is “Unseasonably Warm” with its flock of geese confused by a mild spell, like a heart receiving mixed signals. Charles Austin’s banjo with Jeff Gay’s organ gets a stark Lone Justice charge going on “Almost There.” “Pulling on a Thread,” a molasses-slow dance, gets a nice boost from Dale Murray’s pedal steel. Amid abundant guest players, MacDonald neither yields the centre nor lets go of her sadness. Some people bathe in that sort of thing.
—Doug Taylor
categories: Local artist
This article appears in Nov 13-19, 2008.