Po’ Girl has the same womanly (not girlish, mind you) croon of the 1920s and ’30s blues mamas — yet their music isn’t of another era, despite the banjo backing, woodsy clarinet licks and Wurlitzer. On their third album, Po’ Girl — which includes Trish Klein of the Be Good Tanyas — draws heavily on their soulful, slow-swinging vocals. The layering of old-time forms against elements of soul and R&B is the foundation of their sound, and, in the blues singing tradition, these gals are never quite satisfied. From the album’s opening lyric, “I been running all my life,” this is music for longing, punctuated by Diona Davies’ fiddle and Allison Russell’s clarinet.
The songwriting is shared, ranging from Klein’s sparse gospel rumination “Angels Of Grace” to Russell’s gritty indictment “To The Angry Evangelist”, thick with electric bass and drums. Conspicuous moments of old-time against modern elements — such as guest CR Avery’s spoken-word beats over the band’s instrumentals — are the most interesting, and Po’ Girl could have ramped up such transpositions.
But Home To You, in the end, is alluring for the well-woven, fervent harmonies on the title track and a pervading groove that traverses boom-chuck and unhurried funk. Their pensive tunes, made for hiding from the harsh outdoors or sitting on a balmy porch, are always easy. Sings Klein, “But if I could find heaven instead of this place/I would leave this town with sweet angels of grace.”
