Memphis Mojo/BLUESPEAK.com

Kiss Your Blues Away
Olga
Produced by Olga and Jimbo Mathus
219 Records

Growing up, one of my favorite times of year was summer — not because of the weather — but because every summer all seven of my siblings and I would pack inside the biggest, most raggedy station wagon I've ever seen (to this day) and head down to my granddad's house in Nesbitt, Mississippi, for our annual family reunion.
The kids ate barbecued slaw dogs and whiting fish and played red light/green light, and if we acted right, granddaddy would let us ride one of the horses. The grown folks ate ribs and buffalo fish while playing horseshoes and spades.
The best part about being in Nesbitt for me was walking barefoot in that cold Mississippi grass. It seemed like the grass in Mississippi had a different feel than grass anywhere else. I have tried many times since I've been grown to find grass that feels like the grass did in Nesbitt, but I am convinced that it was something about Mississippi.
Which brings me to Olga's album Kiss Your Blues Away. Olga's sound has the ability to transport me from wherever I am, back to that li'l' house in Nesbitt, back to that big backyard, with the horses and the cows and the slaw dogs and, of course, that cold crisp grass that seems like it was created with folks walking barefoot in mind.
Olga wrote all except one song on the 13-track album. The music is mellow, which is typical of folk music. What makes Olga's sound atypical is that she sustains the folk sound, without borrowing the lashing-out, angry tone of other folk singers like Ani Difranco. Olga sings about love and music and gets a little sassy with "Remind Me Who I'm Talking To." But throughout the album, she establishes a unique sound that isn't
comparable to any other artist.

by: Rosilyn Parashis August 2004,
Memphis Mojo/BLUESPEAK.com