Deborah Bartley

This second release on her own label features Indiana native Deborah Bartley as singer, songwriter and acoustic guitarist. Since 1998, she’s been touring the country and sharing her folk music with coffeehouse crowds and patrons of local music clubs, and this week she’ll be bringing her sound to Chico.

Pacific mixes strong lyrics with Bartley’s soulful voice for an almost mesmerizing result. The album is a combination of angst and beauty that resists the temptation of whiny laments, a trap that claims so many romantic regrets that get set to music. Bartley’s lyrics are filled with evocative imagery that weaves not just a song, but a story as well. Although some tracks, like "500 Years," twang abruptly and disrupt the almost entrancing quality of the rest of the CD, most of the songs flow together seamlessly. Songs like "Runaway" give full range not only to Bartley’s vocal talent but also to her poetic intuition. Her raw talent, coupled with the experience of four years on the road, promises a show worth seeing.