This review was written by Ken Volonte. The CD "Caron Vikre" was recorded in 1991.
A few weeks ago, I received a CD by Caron Vikre and I've been listening to it off and on ever since. This is a beautiful dark album made by a woman with secrets to explore. Her music is oddly familiar to my ears. It is distinctly Nordic in sensibility with dark swirling lyrics and surprising musical twists and turns.
How dark is Ms. Vikre's world? There is alcoholism here, and veiled references to suicide. There is love somewhere but nowhere found.
All of this angst is set against music that is, by turns cold and eerily funny. I can hear Stevie Nicks, the Beatles, and Neil Young with Cheryl Wheeler thrown in for good measure.
This music doesn't fit neatly into a category. It is, at once, rock, country, techno and torch song. I'm drawn to two songs in particular. Goodnight Kiss with its harmonies and instrumentation is glorious. Midnight in the Woods is every folk tale you've ever heard. This is fear, yet it skips along as though nothing is wrong. But time is inexorable and relentless and it only comes right with the final harmonic cord that lets you know everything's fine.
Caron Vikre's world is full of dangers and unresolved situations. Her music haunts me, but I have to put the CD aside, 'cause I don't want to live in a place where it snows all year round.
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