Shannon McNally travels the same cosmic country-folk highway as did Gram Parsons and his tutee Emmylou Harris, who McNally recalls more in her raven mane than her husky alto. And though her latest release has a modest title, Light Walker Demos EP, it distills all that's magnetic about her music. With the blues as a sure foundation beneath her, a dome of inescapable dreams above her and the sexiest wit this side of June Carter Cash running through a song such as "This Never Happened, I Was Never Here," McNally clearly isn't a demure honky-tonk angel. Just when she's nearly seduced you with bittersweet loneliness, her rock & roll heart closes the deal.
Different Because: There are a lot of lovely singer-songwriters in the world, but few channel the existential blues like McNally.
