Kathryn Calder - Are You My Mother? (File Under: Music)

In case you were unaware, Kathryn Calder is a keyboardist and singer in The New Pornographers. She was originally brought on board (by uncle A.C. Newman) to sing the parts that normally went to Neko Case live. Nepotism aside, Calder has really shined in the band, most notably on the NP’s 2007 album, Challengers. She is also in the band Immaculate Machine which really are just akin to New Pornographers Lite. That is not necessarily an insult.

Are You My Mother? is Calder’s appropriately and off-puttingly titled solo debut. It was recorded at a home studio built so that she could record and care for her ailing mother, Lynn. As expected, there is a ton of emotion. But the album is less a eulogy than a tribute. This New Pornographer strips naked…emotionally.

I do find that I enjoy the album more with every listen, trying to catch every sublety. It is unfair to judge Are You My Mother? against a New Pornographers album. Multi-part harmonies are a big part of The New Pornos and Immaculate Machine but Calder doesn’t rely on them as she admirably chooses to largely to stand on her own. However, it is obvious that Calder has been influenced by her elder bandmates, Newman and (guest vocalist on “So Easily,”) Neko Case as there are pop and folk hints throughout the album.

Her voice is hushed in verse for much of the album, seemingly lacking the confidence or skill to put herself out there further. But there are moments when Calder soars like in the opener “Slip Away,” where she hums a part that you would have thought Newman envious. She immediately retreats again behind her piano for “Low,”. “Down The River,” recalls the opening track as much for her meek verses as it does its wonderful wordless hum-a-long. And as good as the album’s beginning is, the closer, “All It Is,” is a high point to end on. A song of hope that makes a listener curious as to the artist’s next move.