Sisters Renee and Grace Kuhl grew up in a provincial town near Kansas but moved to Chicago to study creative writing at Columbia College. On their debut album they have opted for a sound which is an uneven blend of their suburban roots and big city life; a sort of Country & Western meets Grunge if you will.
On the single Leavin' The Prairie this actually works pretty effectively with Luke Otwell's lap-slide guitar adding a nice raunchy backbeat but it's not always so successful.
Otwell is one of a four man backing band which gives the sisters an excuse to rock out. Had they chosen to record as a duo I suspect they'd have more traditional acoustic sound. A folk-tinged rootsier feel is most evident on Winning but this contrasts to a ' now it sounds like this' full band version of the same track.
There is very little gloss on a record that kicks off with the raw, bluesy A Woman Is Like A Man, a mood which is maintained on the title track's Cowgirl In The Sand style riffs which confirms Crazy Horse as a major influence.
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Less appealing is the self indulgent jamming on the longest track,Grimjack, which doubtless works fine enough in a live setting but is a bit dirgey on disc. A track like this highlights the fact that the band don't always succeed in striking a balance between power pop and heavy rock.
Choosing the ragged glory of a loose, spontaneous sound is okay in principal yet tends to drown out other more melodic pieces like Larks On A Wire.
The Kuhl sisters can definitely write good tunes but would do well to bring some old-fashioned female sensitivity to the arrangements.
The Kuhls' website
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