Natalie Merchant Revives Folk Classics on The House Carpenter’s Daughter

Natalie Merchant’s penchant for vivid storytelling and unique vocal style has graced the radio waves since the early ‘80s with her band, 10,000 Maniacs. While she flirted with folk music in the past, Natalie’s work remained solidly between singer/songwriter and alternative rock for the majority of her career, bridging into the 21st century.

After embarking on a folk music tour with Wilco in 2000 and parting ways with Elektra Records, Merchant did something bold and opted to release her next album independently. The result is an eclectic collection of folk songs that Natalie utilizes her unique vocal talent to bring new life to.

Merchant decided to give The Horse Flies’ “Sally Ann” a new coat of paint under her emotive vibrato. Using a lively mix of fiddles and churning pedal steel, Natalie retains much of the color that made the original so arresting. Her voice naturally carries with it a pang of sentimentality, which brings forth a tenderness towards these women whose means for survival have colored them poorly in the eyes of society. I have always been more partial to the 10,000 Maniacs version Merchant cut as a b-side to 1992’s…