Natalie Merchant: The House Carpenter's Daughter : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Really, it's a good thing more than twenty years after she debuted as 10,000 Maniacs' frontwoman, Natalie Merchant still loves the sound of her own voice, that grainy alto redolent of countless Marlboros she never smoked. She still doesn't exhibit much of a sense of humor; she often seems on the brink of delivering a stern lecture. Yet Merchant has frequently managed to turn her intensity into expressive and engaging music. With this self-released eleven-song disc, portentously subtitled A Collection of Traditional and Contemporary Folk Music, you fear the worst; instead, The House Carpenter's Daughter is just more happy proof of Merchant's inimitable manner. From "Sally Ann," which she sings up-close and personal, establishing her famous moodiness, and "Which Side Are You On?" where she belts like some veteran mountain singer, Merchant casts new and old spells.

JAMES HUNTER
(July 2, 2003)