Rating: NNN
A friend heard me listening to this album by Chicago singer/songwriter Martha Berner and asked if I was “feeling feminine.” Berner’s debut has a broad, traditional American feel. Her original folk is pleasingly – some might say safely – familiar (example: the Dylan-esque A Town Called Happiness). But she also happens to be really good at what she does. On This Side Of Yesterday her voice is clear and controlled, her lyrics are unclichéd, and the 10 instrumentalists who assist her enrich some already strong production values.
Berner plays a CMW showcase Saturday (March 4) at the Drake.
