Kim Beggs: Blue Bones

The first time I put on Blue Bones I was appalled that an artist who is probably no better than the local, suburban, open-mic talent, managed to release a professionally manufactured album. Kim Beggs is a local sensation in the Canadian Yukon, and this is actually her third album. As a pop-crossover record, it’s horrendous and will definitely not appeal to the growing indie trend of hipster folk. What Blue Bones really is, a solid folk/country roots release without massive pretension. Unfortunately, it also lacks the aforementioned appeal. The songs are competent enough—the lyrics of display their country folk roots, and so one isn’t surprised to hear lines like: “You hung around close to the ground / Hey Mister / Take your heavy heart / Go on and get outta here / and huck-tuu to you for making me blue”. They suit the genre, but do not transcend it in the ways that a great Kathleen Edwards or Good Lovelies album does. Kim Beggs has a little girl voice with a dead-pan delivery that doesn’t alleviate its constant shrillness. However, it is actually this characteristic that makes this release slightly more interesting. Country/folk roots is definitely not my cup of tea, but it is apparent to me when an album continues the steady, occasionally stale, pace of a genre and when an album rips its heart out. Blue Bones is definitely the former. It’s nothing surprising, nothing of interest to those not interested in country folk, but competent enough. Still, it may be more suited to those who have experienced Beggs live before.