Wind Under Wood

Lisa Hake is a West Virginian songwriter/guitarist domiciled in Dundalk. On her second album her effortlessly attractive voice alternately evokes Nanci Griffith and Aimee Mann. Hake’s songs are lovingly crafted, with a real depth in the lyrics, but she often undersells them by welding them into risk-shy arrangements. At her best though, as on the hauntingly expressive ‘Last Boat Out’ and ‘Three Sisters’, she oozes a self-assurance that is truly infectious. ‘Worry Doll’ evokes Jerry Jeff Walker, while there are heart-melting harmonies on ‘Pure As The Driven Snow’, inspired by the Tain Bo Cuailngne. Each track is linked to a hexagram in the Chinese book of divination, the Tao Te Ching, so there’s much worth exploring here that goes beyond mere words and music.