While this album is devoted to Erin McKeown’s interpretations of songs from the ’30s to the ’50s, it isn’t just another entry in the I’m-more-than-a-contemporary-pop-singer category, a move often made by artists grasping for credibility and cash from deeper wells. McKeown’s connection to this material has informed her own writing since she debuted a decade ago. The disc sparkles and bristles, and-as both a nod to her forebears and a springboard for her own formidable skills-has a whole lot in common with The Band’s Moondog Matinee. One original nestles in amongst its neighbors with a sly wink and, after working with several different producers in the past, Mckeown has now confidently taken over the role herself.
