Michelle Malone is a busy gal. She founded SBS Records in 1992 as an outlet for her own work and has lived through a number of different musical incarnations including
Drag the River and Band De Soleil. Just between 1999 and 2001, she released
Home Grown, Lucky to Be Live, Strange Bird, Vol. 3, and now
Hello Out There. That's prolific by even the strictest standards. What's even more impressive is that
Hello Out There is not a weak record. It doesn't sound at all rushed or thrown together. Tagging her style as "sonic roots rock,"
Malone captures her unbridled energy through the power of amps and drums. She achieves a nice balance within that structure, never forsaking her organic folk heritage. (As a further grounding point,
Emily Saliers of
the Indigo Girls contributes her considerable talent to the acoustic-based "Sleepy Sunday Morning.") Other melodic highlights include the near power pop tunes "Hello" and "Carry Me," the top-down driving anthem "Let Love," and the hushed ballad of longing "Any Day Now."
Malone's guitar is emblazoned with a single word that sums it all up -- "Independent." That spirit permeates her songs and performances, and is certainly evident in the fact that she owns the label, too. If you throw in the likes of
Amy Ray,
Jonatha Brooke, Kaia Wilson, and others,
Malone and her sisters are definitely doing it for themselves. And doing it very well, indeed. ~ Kelly McCartney