A Chorus of One

Megan Hickey's voice reminds us of Sacramento's Caitlin Gutenberger, frontwoman of Two Sheds. It's a Cowboy Junkies meets Sinead O'Connor meets Edie Brickell kind of sound, as sad as weeds scraping a barn. The Last Town Chorus is Hickey's near-solo project, and the Village Voice writes that she "sings like an angel and plays lap steel guitar like the devil." She also has something specifically modern, which turns her girlish tone into a woman's art: Her songs are more observational than confessional, more storytelling than some in the lady-folk genre. This is not to say that her most recent CD, Wire Waltz, doesn't have love songs. In fact, Hickey covers Bowie, in a genuinely worthwhile update of "Modern Love," slowed way, way down and rephrased for maximum steel atmosphere. There's even a semi-stalker track, "It's Not Over." But "Huntsville 1989" is the standout, with its lack of concern with rhyme, rambling narrative, and spare instrumentation. Rave reviews of her live performances have poured in, too, in publications based everywhere from London to Nashville.

The Last Town Chorus and Jeremy Fisher open for the Weakerthans.
Wed., Oct. 3, 8 p.m., 2007