No gesture or no sound
Mired in hollow ground
Like a sparrow in a cyclone
You have me spiralling around
From the 90's into the 00's, there was no harder working band in Alberta than Painting Daisies. Helmed by co-frontwomen Rachelle Van Zanten and Daisy Blue Groff, P.D. evolved from an acoustic folk duo to a four-woman juggernaut that toured seemingly non-stop, purveying passionate prairie rock across Canada, the US, and Europe before disbanding in 2005. While Van Zanten went on to release two critically acclaimed solo albums in 2006 and 2009, Blue Groff has kept a lower profile, taking time to settle into the Vancouver music scene before entering the studio to record her debut solo release, Sparrow In A Cyclone.
Ably supported by producer/engineer Joby Baker's (Alex Cuba, Cowboy Junkies) slick production, elastic bass and chunky drums, Blue Groff's voice and guitar swing effortlessly from sultry to edgy with the confidence of a seasoned performer. From the swirling electro-tinged opener Forever, Slowly and the sinuous seduction of Electric Love Song(for LA), to full-on rockers like Give Up The Ghost and Gunslinger, Sparrow possesses an engaging swagger neatly balanced by the intimate warmth of songs like Full Heart, Shrug It Off and the stripped-down voice/guitar/strings of Queen of Chain. Clocking in at less than 30 minutes, Sparrow is a compact and charming calling card that will hopefully bring some attention to Blue Groff's skill with pen, voice, and guitar.
Daisy Blue Groff can be found at CBC Radio 3 (where you can also listen to four songs from the album), in the book of faces, and on Twitter.