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Brandi Carlile chats to I Like Music

By Sacha Whitmarsh

Eartha Kitt sings her praises, kd lang would choose her to play her in a movie and the Indigo Girls asked her to sing on their album.

Sacha Whitmarsh finds out why there is something so very special about Brandi Carlile.

She's in the UK to promote her first album release here The Story with a short tour. Produced by T Bone Burnett, the album is a showcase of the two sides of Brandi - the country girl with a giant indie swagger. The title track is a vocal triumph. It starts slowly, voice soaring gracefully but menacingly over gentle strumming, then dives like a hunting bird of prey as her trademark voice-break kickstarts the song into a passionate, anthemic belter. It's the strongest track on the album and will surely be a single.

The first to be released here, however, is Turpentine, a mournful, bitter tale of a failing relationship, with beautiful harmonies from Tim and Phil Hanseroth, the guitarist and bass player in the band. There's plenty of country influences on the album in Cannonball or Josephine plus straight rock tracks like My Song. But what is most exciting about Brandi Carlile is when these two styles literally collide within the same track. There are sudden gear shifts in songs like Until I Die and Downpour from soft melodies to crashing guitars that leave you breathlessly reeling with whiplash. Glorious.

Brandi is an incongruous sight as she steps into the foyer of the plush hotel where we meet. She looks tiny in skinny jeans and a tight new jacket, hair clipped back, sultry eyes. Born in rural Washington state, where she still lives, she grew up a true country girl making forts, climbing trees and fishing.

"I never got in trouble or anything but I was like a really rough and tumble kind of tomboy, always getting my clothes dirty and things like that. I have a brother that's really close in age so we were like twins and my dad always just sort of treated me like my brother so I never got excluded from any of those kinds of activities".

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