Drag Queens in Limousines

Drag Queens in Limousines

• Shrink-wrapped

Though she's made a name for herself in Boston as both a songwriter and as a chef, Mary Gauthier has little in common with her more refined New England folk brethren. Her aspirations and influences point toward the twangy lyricism of Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, and Townes Van Zandt. If the Louisiana native hasn't yet attained their mastery, she's headed in the right direction. Gauthier's first widely available release is filled with striking, unrepentant outcasts--from convicted murderess Karla Faye Tucker to, as she sings in the title song, "drag queens in limousines, nuns in blue jeans, dreamers with big dreams, poets and AWOL marines." Her characters are captured in words that are rarely sentimental, always keen, and often wise. Against a simple but vivid acoustic backdrop, Gauthier's thick drawl rings with the truth of deeply felt emotions. Whether in a peaceful love song or a brutally realistic vignette, Gauthier lends every line great affection, dignity, and respect. <I>--Roy Kasten</I>