Alibi.com • December 2009 • Mel Minter

Bernadette Seacrest and Her Provocateurs The Filthy South Sessions (bernadetteseacrest.com)

With a voice that promises everything, including maybe 20 years in the pen, vocalist/co-producer Bernadette Seacrest conjures a noir underbelly of a world on The Filthy South Sessions, with help from co-producers Charles Williams (guitars), who wrote all 12 tunes, Kris Dale (double bass, pedal steel) and guests. Williams’ steamy tangos, blues and rumbas don’t so much tell stories as sideswipe them (“I love you, but put down that gun”). “Babylon” recalls Leonard Cohen’s lyrical enigmas, and Seacrest delivers it with a seductive, Billie Holiday–esque plangency. Clearly, Seacrest knows what’s what and, deliciously, she’s in no hurry to explain it. (MM)