Gibson, Laura - If You Come to Greet Me

Laura Gibson is pretty much everything you could want from a folk singer. The bio on her website lists her upbringing in an “isolated logging town in the south coast of Oregon”, the daughter of the town’s kindergarten teacher and a forest ranger. She plays a classical, nylon-stringed guitar, and sings in a beautifully crystal, simple voice. On stage, Laura is charmingly shy and looks down, toying with her guitar strings as she thanks her audience. If you’re looking for folk street cred, look no further.

If You Come to Greet Me is Laura’s first full-length a follow up to 2004’s Amends, and it’s a marked departure. Where Amends leaned on Aimee Mann pop for influence, especially on “Roll”, If You Come is out and out folk. Produced by Adam Selzer and backed by Norfolk & Western, the depth of sound evokes Dolorean, another Portland band. It’s lushly recorded and flawless in its sound. Gibson’s songwriting continues to shine, and her vocals have been tweaked a bit, meshing perfectly with her folkier sound. In all, If You Come to Greet Me also reminds me of Sarah Harmer’s You Were Here, one of my favorite albums of all time, in it’s use of space and homey feel.

Lyrics, melody and song structure are all there, but If You Come just runs too slow at times. Gibson writes excellent upbeat songs, as is evident on the album’s opener, “Hands in Pockets” and the bluesier “Small Town Parade”, but those are the only two. The other seven tracks are beautifully soft, but they run together, working better as background music than as an exclusive listen. “The Longest Day” is a notable exception, a wonderful holdover from Amends that stands as one of my favorite Laura Gibson tracks.

If You Come to Greet Me is like taking a leisurely drive through the Fall countryside in a classic sports car. It’s great and all, the scenery is wonderful, but sometimes you want to open up the engine and see what happens.

If You Come to Greet Me, Laura Gibson: B