Kelley Mickwee

You Used to Live Here

With the Trishas on “open-ended” hiatus, Kelley Mickwee becomes the first of the lauded local quintet to release any solo material. You Used to Live Here, bordering on an EP at a slim seven tracks, combines the singer’s native Memphis roots with those of her Austin homestead. It’s soulful in a Dusty Springfield kind of way, tough and gutsy in spots, vulnerable in others. There’s a striking co-write with Owen Temple, “Beautiful Accidents,” a duet that stands out as their voices slide against each other on a back-roads love story. “River Girl,” co-written with Kevin Welch, sets up the high humidity felt throughout, while Mickwee does a near-perfect job with tunes from John Fullbright and Eliza Gilkyson, the downhearted “Blameless” from the former and a sultry “Dark Side of Town” from the latter. Too short by a couple of tunes, but an impressive debut just the same.

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This article appears in August 8 • 2014.

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