Edith Grove & Bottle Tree: Press

Edith Grove Biography
Americana music to take you down the back roads.
Rock, traditional folk and old school country all get together at a road house on the lost highway. Edith Grove draws on her roots reaching back through Illinois, Arkansas and New Mexico to weave songs that pulse with heartbreak, rye whiskey and wheels that won't quit turning. With the band Bottle Tree, Edith takes listeners through the ghost-haunted Ozark Mountains, above the flooded streets of New Orleans and across a moon soaked prairie in the newest album, Days of Rain.

Stripped down drums, sinuous bass lines and a world weary voice are etched across songs that sound both contemporary and timeless. This is a musical journey where the trains never stop running, the whiskey bottle is never empty and old cars always have a few miles left in them. Edith Grove has played a variety of gigs from the Thirsty Ear Festival to opening for Crosby, Stills & Nash and the Handsome Family.

Edith Grove's third album, Days of Rain, was recorded by Brett Sparks of the Handsome Family at Handsome Family Studios in Albuquerque, NM.

Excerpt:

Cello and vocal harmonies are the quartet's haunting calling card, and singer/guitarist Amanda Kooser's vocals veer toward Lucinda Williams territory, especially on "Exit Only," an acoustic rock-out that's grounded by that cello as it provides the melody. Kooser also wrote all the songs, except for standards "Rye Whiskey" and "Man of Constant Sorrows," here reworked as a two-step waltz rendering it almost unrecognizable.

She reveals herself a virtuoso storyteller on "Slow It Down," a slice of Americana that takes a detour down the alley; on the great "Lovers Always Run Before the Clock"; and on the ironic "With You Now," which kind of exhorts you to love the one you're with (Who knew CSN&Y were right?) . . . right now.

Excerpt:

There is grit, sorrow and forlornness aplenty to be sure, but there’s also something staggeringly kind about Suzanne Shelton’s cello and Kooser’s vocals that can be pretty darn sweet when she desires them to be.

Highway features several guest musicians on everything from pedal steel and banjo to violin and blues harp. The appearances help fill out the alt.country sound that’s part Indigo Girls and part Bob Dylan with the Rolling Stones’ influence equally apparent.

Excerpt:

Many, though have been waiting for Edith Grove to release a new CD after the band made a splash with "Cravin' Love for Blazin' Speed," three years ago.
Tonight at the Albuquerque Press Club Edith Grove— which is a band named after a the Rolling Stones former squalid flat, not a person— will release its new CD, "Highway of Diamonds."
Drinkin', dyin' and cheatin' songs are the band's forte on the new CD. Led by Amanda Kooser, the band goes from haunting murder ballads like "Jonas" to traditional like "Man of Constant Sorrow," which, or course, was a major hit from the "O Brother" soundtrack.

"Pure, honest and completely unadorned [Edith Grove] makes listeners imagine flat, wheat-filled landscapes or rolling green hills disappearing along with the asphalt grittiness of another highway."

“The sound is reminiscent of the Indigo Girls and is a lot of fun to listen to. The band has a meticulous professional side that is revealed in the attention to detail given to the website, CD and the gigs they play.”

“The package looks great, the production is obviously well thought out, very nice mixing and mastering. The band’s playing has really tightened up. A lot of great lyrics here!”

"Cravin' Love for Blazin' Speed is an impressive debut. Its tight songwriting and sound - and flawless packaging - indicate that Edith Grove is the kind of group you may see soaring beyond the confines of the Albuquerque music scene."

Best of Burque 2002: Anything We Forgot: Best Local Band: Edith Grove Helen [sic].