Carrie Rodriguez

Carrie Rodriguez

Carrie Rodriguez's stock-in-trade remains her homegrown fiddle prowess, but on fifth solo outing Give Me All You Got, she wields a humble six-string on a polished, heartfelt set of tunes about a thirtysomething home in Texas again. The native Austinite, 34, marries traditional country grooves, such as the sweet lilt of "Lake Harriet," to the fuzzed-out guitar tones of darkened barroom rock & roll, juxtaposing whiskey-fueled dance parties with the two-stepping daydream of a genteel past. The aforementioned fiddle provides much-needed dissonance in playing off the smoky blues-rock of more straightforward guitar-driven tunes – "I Cry for Love," for example. "Sad Joy" channels John Prine with Hammond organ that rolls behind the mellow melody. And in both the opener and its reprise, "Devil in Mind," Rodriguez puts the same organ to use like a gal leaving church for the Continental Club Gallery. The track, and arguably the whole of Give Me All You Got, plays out as a hymn to the free-spirited sinner who embraces the compulsion for adventure, as well as the need to put down roots. In one long breath, Carrie Rodriguez sings with equal affection for both.