On three studio albums, and one generous anthology before this, her full-length debut for the amazingly smart Silent Planet label (home to Terry Taylor and Aaron Sprinkle, among others), Jan Krist used her penetrating and poignant lyrics, her elegant music, and, especially, her gorgeously evocative yet plain-spoken vocals to establish an astonishing body of work. The best comparison is to Joni Mitchell, someone who can take a traditional form -- singer/songwriter acoustic-based folk-rock -- and simultaneously make it more artful and personal than all other contenders. That is no hyperbole -- there is something paradoxically transcendent and practical about the way Krist writes and sings her songs of mercy (our need for it, our need to share it). Outposts of the Counter-Culture is a softer-sounding affair than her stark debut (Decapitated Society, although it continues that album's tradition of social observation in the title track and "Try Anyway"), or other two original albums. Her deliciously warm voice has sank into the more laid-back material here with casual joy, yet the album still experiments musically, going from the fun jazzbo torch of "Someone To Watch Over Me" to the funky sci-fi avant-pop of "Parallel Universe," with one of her best six-string anthems sandwiched between ("Try Anyway"). The songs themselves go from either being truly touching or very funny.
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