Susan Latimer – She Don’t Mean No Evil – Independent Release

Written By: John R. Taylor

Latimer’s debut, 2002’s “Grey Matters,” featured superior songcraft supported only by her extraordinary vocals and fine acoustic guitar. This time around she’s recruited the talents of guitarist Mike Tabares, bassist Huck Balson, and drummer Dan Reiff to add additional textures to a masterful collection of engaging and thought-provoking tunes.

Adroitly avoiding the narcissism that afflicts so many singer/songwriters (let’s face it, there’s ego involved in assuming listeners will be interested in what one has to say), Susan’s songs range from the presumably autobiographical (“I’m Counting On You”) to quirky character studies like the title track. Most deal with that most timeless of subjects, human relationships, taking a tough, somewhat jaded view with sardonic humour rarely far below the surface.

Susan’s not afraid to bare her soul, though; the pained pleading of “Why Won’t You Come Back To Me” is devastating in its stark simplicity. And while the poetry of “From Your Chains” runs a little deeper, the song’s emotional honesty is equally poignant. Yet contrast either of these with the hilarious “I Love This Town,” a wickedly barbed look at the tribulations of performing in bars, or the cautionary title track (“She don’t mean no evil/But she won’t do you no good”) and it’s obvious Susan’s music resists easy categorization. There’s guarded optimism in “Blue Skies (Out Looking For Me),” Susan sounding more hopeful than convinced, and world-weary resignation on “From Your Chains,” its sadness tempered by a fragile yet ultimately indomitable strength.

The seamless integration of words and music, and the easy, utterly natural way she toys with cadence and meter, stretching a word here, clipping a line there, suggest Latimer’s given these songs the freedom to develop over time, with the arrangements evolving to suit the material. Craft is amply evident if one looks for it, but the tunes flow so organically, it’s as though the music has grown, like a vine, inextricably around the lyrics.

Performances are uniformly excellent, from Latimer’s own acoustic guitar to the unobtrusive support she gets from all concerned. (Tabares in particular is stellar throughout, his fleet and invariably tasteful fretwork adding immeasurably to the success of the project). And then there’s Susan’s voice, a remarkable instrument indeed. Combining a kittenish charm with an edge that intimates a world of danger, she delivers every line with an intuitive artistry, subtle inflections and nuanced shadings lending an enigmatic air that lingers long after the disc is done. Intentional or not, Susan herself sums impressions up best on the collection’s closer, “The End Of Time” - “If you know/A song that’ll touch me/I’ll stay here forever ‘til the end of time.”

This is great stuff … highly recommended!