Website © 2003 by Tyler Carey
All Content Creator-Owned
Crystal Brandt
Voter
Mungler Winslowe Records, 2004
by Dr. Christian Carey Singer-songwriter Crystal Brandt may not be a household name -- yet -- but if musicianship, composition, and graceful singing were the yardsticks by which fame was measured (instead of whatever the hell it is that people like about Britney Spears), VoterVoter tend towards the simply elegant, consisting of Brandt accompanying her own singing on either piano or guitar; her performances on these instruments tend towards the economical, supporting her voice rather than entering into dialogue with it. But ballads like the folk-inflected "Bruising the Flowers" and the achingly lovely "Bear Mountain" are in need of little adornment. Brandt's sincere voice and talented melody writing are gifts to savor, and Voter provides generous helpings of both.
-January 26, 2005