Phoebe Hunt & the Gatherers
Heaping helping of high-profile local LPs
Reviewed by Abby Johnston, Fri., Oct. 31, 2014
Phoebe Hunt wears many masks as frontwoman for the Gatherers. They're a little pop, a little jazz, and a lot of shades of country. Alongside fellow Belleville Outfit veteran Connor Forsyth, the Brooklyn-via-Austin crooner explores several influences on Walk With Me, but never quite manages to set any roots deep enough. As the album title indicates, Hunt's jazz-tinged voice works best at a strolling pace. Purposefully recalling Patsy Cline melancholy, she wafts through the standout title track, a dreamy Fifties love ballad. Even so, the Cajun spice that peppers "Walk of Angeline" plays out more naturally, Hunt's fiddle picking up the pace to a jaunt. As "Warm Summer's Evening" winds the disc to a close with a lovely, light touch of Billie Holiday-inspired crooning, it nevertheless feels like Phoebe Hunt gave us 11 vignettes rather than the big picture.
