Before & After
Artist: Carrie Newcomer
Label: Rounder Records
URL: www.carrienewcomer.com
 
There's no folk like Quaker folk. On the cover of Carrie Newcomer's new CD, Before & After, she is illustrated in warm sunset amber on a train by the window; the scene outside; the gold of the sun and distant birds in flight ascending toward the clouds. And there is Carrie, busy writing on a pad of paper with book in hand, her feet relaxed on the seat across from her. It is a serene portrait of an artist at work with her inspirations around her. The picture itself is an illustration of the tension we feel between the stillness and the movement of our lives.
 
And what is inside the album demonstrates a quality equal to the cover art. It is an artist at work, in her element, deepening her art, fine tuning her observations of the ordinary, always with her hand on the pulse of the spiritual cravings of the human soul, her own and ours. The title song opens with the anguished sound of a violin and the image of a tragic hit and run accident. It speaks to the way of our lives are shaped by the tragedies and foibles we experience. But, Carrie doesn't leave us in despair. It also speaks of self forgiveness; from this artist's perspective this is the key to what she calls 'the greatest law . . . love." 

We live our lives from then until now
by the mercies received
or the mark upon our brow
to my heart I'll collect
what the four winds will scatter
and frame my life by before after 

With the title song, "Before and After," Carrie sets the theme of lives changed by individual events both ordinary and extraordinary, peaceful and profound, subtle and dramatic. The recurring theme is to be present to these moments and how they transform. It's how the spiritual stream moves through songs--indeed, moves through our lives, if we pay attention.
 
If her last album, The Geography of Light, was a reflection of the ordinary revelations of daily life found in our natural world, Before & After points us within with spiritual eyes toward our interior world, to our everyday grief, loss, joy and blessings. It is a journey through a poetic soul which invites us into our own pilgrimage of a faith based on an unflinching look at reality. There is no magic encouraged in these songs, no shortcuts or miraculous substitutions for the meaning found in our daily lives. This collection of songs suggests we are spirituality connected as we all crave the dialogue of the soul. However, there are miracles in the insights of these songs, which could be called uncommon, but and in the truest sense of the folk tradition, are common and universal to us all. Carrie is inviting us to find what is already there like so many unnoticed spring wildflowers in a hidden Sierra meadow.
 
It's difficult to find a weak link in this collection of songs and stories. The production is sparse, with space to breathe and feel the depth of the lyric. The music is delicate, yet strong, with a sturdiness reinforced by a voice rich with warmth and deep with soul. The musicians support the songs with taste and care. "I Do Not Know Its Name" is about the futility of labeling life's joys with the limitations of words. In the song, "If Not Now," Carrie's first sing-along, she asks when we begin to move toward social justice and progress. She points us to the problems in the world suggesting the need for people of faith to act in compassion without fear. The message becomes clear; our interior-soul work must connect with the world outside the narrow passage of our egos. The lighthearted song, "Meant To Do My Work Today," is a reminder of how burdened we become by the tyranny of the urgent plans we make during the day, until we surrender to the unfolding nature of the moment with all it's riches. "I Do Not Know Its Name" similarly illustrates those times which pass us by when we try to put our moments into a pre-determined labeled box.  In this mystic, Quaker's world view we can allow the spontaneity found in daily life to emerge in ordinary moments through oft-overlooked experiences. "Geography of Light" is quite an accomplishment for this already accomplished Zen-like Quaker singer-songwriter. Before & After is a continuation of a conversation begun on that collection of songs; another chapter in a distinguish body of work.

Terry Roland  February 23, 2010