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Q MagazineElson's theatrical but appealing voice adds genuine drama to the darkly brooding Stolen Roses, while the title track is a handsome murder ballad. [Jul 2010, p.133]
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While The Ghost Who Walks occasionally feels a little long and scattered, it's still a beautifully made album that earns Elson a place among moody songstresses such as Neko Case, Amanda Palmer, Hope Sandoval, and Paula Frazer.
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Even during its less-memorable moments, this is an album that maintains its atmosphere, and Elson is an engaging narrator (although there's no trace of her Oldham roots to be heard).
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Elson leans toward both bluegrass and chamber pop--the fiddle-laced "Cruel Summer" is worlds away from the twee, jewelry-box twinkle of "100 Years From Now." Her twangy, echoing soprano recalls Jenny Lewis and Loretta Lynn, aided craftily by husband/producer Jack White.
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The backup flatters Ms. Elson's voice, which shows the wavering concentration of a promising amateur. Some phrases are focused and persuasive, with a girlish feistiness; others are shaky. The lyrics, too, have graceful moments alongside awkward ones.
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Each composition is fleshed out as well as it can be, the end result still a kind of Appalachian wallpaper music that after further inspection and subsequent listens, leaves the record sounding much more flimsy than urgent. What impression it leaves doesn't last.