A personal record of uplifting well-crafted songs.
“Sometimes I lose, sometimes I win, I’m gonna make myself me again… I’m giving up on giving in, I’m gonna make myself me again”, sings Cristina Vane on the opening, title track of her excellent new album, ‘Make Myself Me Again’. The much-travelled daughter of a Sicilian-American father and a Guatemalan mother, who has now found a home in Nashville via Italy, France and Walton-on-Thames in England, where she lived during the 90s, has arrived! She describes this as ‘a little collection of who I am and who I have been’, and alongside her self-assured song writing and a voice that has been likened to a young Bonnie Raitt, she has assembled a hugely talented group of musicians to accompany her and the production team of Brook Sutton (Blackberry Smoke) and Jano Rix (The Wood Brothers). As she says: “I’ve been trying to peel back the layers, to understand who I am, and I think that process has translated to this record. The production is straightforward, more minimal, and a bit of a return to my rock roots but still paying homage to the music I’ve explored since then.” Indeed, the thirteen tracks contain rock, country, blues and bluegrass influences and showcase her own brilliant slide guitar playing throughout, and the superb fiddle playing of Bronwyn Keith-Hines on ‘Time For Leaving’ and Billy Contreras fiddle and Kyle Tuttle’s baritone banjo on ‘Oxbow Meander Loop’.
Much of the album delves into Vane’s personal relationships and documents her quest to find strength and independence in a new town; her resilience and positivity shines through. ‘Make Myself Me Again’ is truly optimistic and uplifting, with exceptionally well-crafted songs played by highly skilled musicians and production that gives an almost live feel to the recording. ‘I’m slowly figuring out how to find my own voice’ is certainly an understatement; if you haven’t heard of Cristina Vane before, you certainly have now.
