REVIEWS

MusicDish review by Mark Kirby - Click here for full review - it's long!
“Her sense of character and bizarre narrative could make her a great short-story writer…. she takes a half-heard scrap of conversation and fills in all the blanks, thus, creating these intimate, arresting songs.”

The album's opener, "One Closed Eye," is more indicative of the murkiness of Karen Ires's musical world. It's beautiful song, with simple strummed chords supporting and augmenting her voice. What's it about? A lack of awareness on the part of someone? "Out of all the pretty suns in the sky, How many lights can you see with one closed eye?"And how this lack has a smothering effect - "I can't sleep, I can't smoke, 'cause I can't breathe . . . "I'm walking to the back of your regard."And definitely denial. "I really don't mind if you fake it." Maybe I'm dense, but I find the narrative oblique, impenetrable. Like poetry. This is part of what makes her so good. With other singer/writers I've listened to recently - Gabriel Gordon, Jennifer Marks, Clyde Wrenn - I've been able to make a good deal of sense of what they were saying (though they are no less poetic than Karen). But with her songs it's different. Most of them give me the same feelings of vague awareness that certain rock and soul songs used to give me when I was a kid: you knew something intense was going on, even if you couldn't put your finger on it, because you were too young to know. Not unlike reading Jack Kerouac or William Burroughs.


The Best Female Musicians, review by Dennis Halsey

Karen Ires is something of an icon in New York City. While she usually only plays once or twice a month live, she has a following that show up at each and every of her shows. They clamor for photos with her, have started their own fan site, and generally idolize her. After you get a chance to listen to her music you will begin to understand this phenomenon.

Karen's voice on her more mellow, folk rock oriented songs like the CD's opener "One Eye Closed" is what I would describe as restrained elegance. Karen has an incredible gift for lyric writing. This is all too apparent in the track "Star" also, while the music remains true to the mellow start of the album Karen starts to unleash her powerful voice a bit more. The tune is not a happy one and ends with the line, "He's just a boy I used to know, just some girl who had a brother's friend, and I just happened to be there, I didn't know to hesitate or make a stand, I never had a Dad, I never learned the opposite of sad."

If you like your music full of well thought out and provocative lyrics along with intelligently written and professionally performed compositions than Karen Ires' CD should make it into your collection. This CD knows no boundaries, while it lends itself to the Acoustic Rock genre it could easily find airplay on Adult oriented stations, and even has Americana crossover potential.
Karen starts to unleash things a little more on "EvryLstHwy" and the listener gets a real chance to see what she can do when she gives a number a rock treatment. The tune remains true to the theme of the album, but cuts loose a little more.

Karen has a gift with the acoustic guitar as well. Her voicings are intelligent (this seems to be a word cropping up quite a bit in this review) and when accompanied by her voice and the other instrumentation a magic is created.

Even songs of heartbreak like "Nadine" never stoop to the level of asking the listener to enjoy the song because they pity the main character for her loss, they just convey the story, and the women in these songs come off strong without being militant, a line that is hard to tow.

"Faithless" is the first song I heard by Karen Ires, and I was an instant fan, as a matter of fact every person I ever played the song for became an instant fan. This is the perfect rock song and, for the first time on the record, Karen really lets her voice and music really break loose. The best I can say of this song is that you have to give it a listen and I'll let you be the judge. I fell in love with Karen after hearing this tune, and not the stalker kind of love, the kind that a person who listen to literally hundreds of CDs a week finds when he hears a perfect song. This song could easily receive, at the very least, college radio airplay.

However much of a rock song "Faithless" is Karen seems to find her home in the more gentle breezes of songs like "5am." Karen sings with great ease of the feeling of knowing heartbreak is inevitable, but always holds out that hope that is part of the human condition.

When you find a CD that is perfect in so many respects the review almost seems like you were paid by the artist to write such great things, but Karen delivers magic on eleven of eleven tracks on this CD. Released in 2003 on Pets Allowed Music/Pauline Plays Records I wholeheartedly recommend you follow the links below and become a fan of Karen Ires.

Interview with The Women of Mp3.com

Cloaked in a kind of velvet atmosphere.
Reviewer: Lockergnome.com
"Most popular artists are performers, not necessarily singers. They emote, cringe, strangle the microphone, do handstands, and pump their fists in the air, but it's all so much acting. Then there are those few people who simply open their mouths and the song pours out, almost effortlessly. Karen Ires has a quiet, expressive voice that is complimented by an unmistakable desire to rock out. She's been compared to Aimee Mann and Liz Phair, but her vocals are cloaked in a kind of velvet atmosphere that puts her in a category all her own."

Aching pop goddess indifference.
Reviewer: Tropia.com
" Karen Ires could convince anyone to try to love again, or else quit their day jobs and live the rest of their lives out on the trees. Backed by slow song compositions, Karen sings with that aching pop goddess indifference that has qualified artists as different as Nico and Fiona Apple. Like the description says, this is best heard in the bathtub or on the bed."

Delicious atmospheres, pure and beautiful touch.
Reviewer: Gert-Ove Fridlund, Hallandsposten Paper, Sweden
"As a singer-songwriter, Karen Ires has a certain feel for delicious atmospheres and love-lyrics. Beauty and an almost sacred conviction... this album could be seen as an artistic entirety, almost a suite with eleven well-integrated parts in it."

This debut is a luscious contribution to the sonic landscape.
Reviewer: Herbert Louis, Icon Magazine
A rich, lyrical collection of songs that set a dulcet but assertive tone. It's like an acoustic roadtrip down a path strewn with lousy boyfriends in wait of their comeuppance. Highly recommended.

Great mood, great songs, great talent!!!
Reviewer: River East Newsletter
One song after another fills my ears with stuff that I want to hear. The whole album fits me nicely and fits together nicely. I hope she keeps feeling, writing, singing and recording. A brilliant album!!!

We need to get this girl in the public EYE.. .
big time..
Reviewer: Biggyswirl's Hot Rising Stars Journal
I received a copy of this CD from a good friend, who said you must hear this... and WOW.. i could not believe my ears... I am infamous for CD killing ( playing them over and over and over.. until one day i just can't stand it anymore ) We'll.. i have done the same with this CD.. and i have yet to kill it.. it is just so pleasing for every moment of the day.. great wake up, great sleep, great @!#$$#!@@# -grin- it is what i would call a masterpiece and I know that day will come when Karen IRES will be on the cover of rolling stone mag.... She is already on the cover of BiggySwirls Journal.... don't miss this moment of happiness and joy.. that this CD can bring to your collection of music.