Lesbian singer/songwriter Catie Curtis is out with a warm, personal new album, her ninth. (Photo by Tony Baker)
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REBECCA ARMENDARIZ
Friday, September 19, 2008
Catie
Curtis,
in
a
liner
note,
dedicates
her
latest
CD
to
the
stage
manager
at
a
local
theater,
who
gave
Curtis
her
first
guitar
for
free
on
the
condition
she
learn
to
play
it.
This
thankful,
uplifted
mood
surrounds
“Sweet
Life,”
Curtis’
ninth
studio
album.
Her
singsong
vocals
have
a
carefree,
campfire
lilt
to
them,
polishing
the
edges
of
could-be-corny
lyrics.
On
the
title
track,
Curtis,
a
lesbian,
lists
past
loves
and
heartbreaks
and
is
thankful
to
finally
know
the
“Sweet
Life.”
“Then
there
was
the
one
in
Oregon/who
wanted
me
to
be
born
again/so
I
was
shown
the
door
again/for
being
a
heathen,”
she
says.
Second
track
“Are
You
Ready
to
Fly?”
epitomizes
Curtis’
brand
of
storyteller
folk.
She
weaves
an
innocent
tale
of
a
summer
come
and
gone
over
a
patter
of
percussion
and
uncluttered
guitar
picking.
Curtis
has
achieved
undeniable
success
in
her
15-year
career
—
her
songs
have
been
featured
on
television
shows
like
“Desperate
Housewives,”
she
received
a
GLAAD
Album
of
the
Year
Award,
and
she
also
won
the
2006
International
Songwriting
Competition
grand
prize
for
a
song
she
penned
about
Hurricane
Katrina.
After
all
of
these
triumphs,
the
time
has
come
in
Curtis’
life
for
an
easy,
positive
record
like
this.
She
and
her
partner
of
10
years,
Liz,
adopted
two
girls
together,
Lucy
and
Celia,
in
2006.
“In
order
to
stay
sane
and
keep
moving
forward,
you
have
to
be
able
to
look
at
all
the
bad
news
around
you
and
still
see
the
beauty
that
is
there
alongside
the
trouble,”
Curtis
said
in
a
press
release.
Her
sound
is
Aimee
Mann
minus
the
rebellion,
as
she
uses
layered
organs
and
resonant
guitars.
Her
style
mirrors
that
of
Shawn
Colvin
in
its
simplicity.
The
record
continues
with
“For
Now,”
which
starts
with
a
twang
and
continues
lazily
with
the
organ,
and
“Happy,”
a
cheerful
tune
in
which
Curtis
announces
she’s
figured
out
how
to
be
carefree.
“Take
the
weight
off
your
shoulders/I’ll
show
you
how,”
she
sings.
The
most
enjoyable
song
on
the
record
is
“Lovely,”
a
jangly
piano
bar
number
that
showcases
Curtis’
raspy
vocal
talents.
Some
lyrics
can
get
preachy,
the
motivational
messages
behind
them
a
bit
cheesy.
On
“Sing,”
Curtis
and
Jon
Randall
Stewart
create
beautiful
harmonies,
but
the
words
take
on
an
over-the-top
religious
feel.
Curtis
and
Stewart
tell
listeners
to
sing
through
the
danger,
the
thunderstorms,
the
thorns
and
the
pouring
rain.
Then,
surprisingly,
Curtis
takes
on
indie
rock
sweethearts
Death
Cab
for
Cutie
in
her
cover
of
“Soul
Meets
Body,”
a
track
from
2005’s
“Plans.”
Her
take
is
instrumentally
pared
down,
but
boosted
by
her
grittier
vocals.
Strings
only
manage
to
peek
out
on
the
chorus
of
“Fools,”
delightfully
bulking
up
the
album’s
overarching
arrangement
of
acoustic
guitars,
keys
and
light
drums.
Curtis
sings
a
lullaby
to
her
daughters
and
an
ode
to
Liz
on
“The
Princess
and
the
Mermaid.”
She
lists
the
problems
that
come
with
a
long-term,
committed
relationship,
but
says
that
“Whatever
it
takes,
whatever
we
need/I
believe
that
we
can
make
it,
my
love.”
It’s
obvious
through
the
lyrics
that
a
person
or
event
has
directly
inspired
each
song
on
this
record,
weaving
intimacy
into
each
track.
The
spark
behind
“Over,”
the
last
track
on
the
album,
remains
a
mystery,
however.
“I
thought
I
couldn’t
live
without
you/now
we
don’t
get
to
choose/the
more
I
say
that
I
want
to/the
more
I
have
to
lose,”
she
sings.
With
every
other
situation
on
the
record
seeming
so
obvious,
what
could
this
be
about?
Curtis
writes
albums
to
fit
the
eras
of
her
own
life.
Fans
who
have
grown
with
her
over
her
15
years
of
releasing
albums
will
welcome
the
comfort
of
“Sweet
Life.”
New
recruits
will
breathe
easy
with
the
album’s
lighthearted
unpretentiousness.
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