Edith Grove & Bottle Tree: Press

Edith Grove Biography

Murder ballads, the Rolling Stones and Vivaldi all meet up on the Americana frontier. Heartbreak, rye whiskey and wheels that won't quit turning are etched across the songs on Edith Grove's (real name Amanda Kooser) second album, Highway of Diamonds. With a high energy band, Eidht Grove takes the audience back to the 1800s in Arkansas as Hanging Judge Parker takes another life and then fast forwards to a rain soaked New Mexico highway that splits through the Plains of St. Augustine.

Edith Grove takes influences ranging from Dylan to traditional folk to classical music and forges her own identity. This is a musical world where the trains never stop running, the whiskey bottle is never empty and old cars always have a few more miles left in them. Three-part harmonies, soaring cello lines and a world weary voice trademark a band that reinvents traditional Americana themes in songs that sound both contemporary and timeless. Edith Grove has played a variety of gigs from festivals to club shows to opening for Crosby, Stills & Nash.

Edith Grove's new album, Highway of Diamonds, 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].