Stunning songwriter and singer and founder of the popular Girls With Guitars collective, Cindy Kalmenson is back with another lovely, intelligent release.

California-raised Cindy Kalmenson has been in Nashville for a little over six years, working the songwriting haunts and playing regular gigs with the Girls With Guitars. This, her second album, is a minor gem that should be in the hands of every reader of Maverick. Co-produced by Cindy and Jon Randall, with the acclaimed Brent Truitt and Ben Wisch being involved in the mixing and recording and a whole host of the finest session players (Pat Bergeson, Dave Pomeroy, Larry Atamanuik, Al Perkins, Lisa Silver, Steve Conn, Bob Ickes, Stuart Duncan, etc, should whet your appetite), this is quality music of the highest order. Then when you add in Cindy’s superb songwriting and distinctive vocal work that touches all the emotional hot-spots, you have an indispensable album.Maturing as an artist involves graduating to different lyrical subject matter, especially on a second album. Such is the case with Kalmenson. She wrote nine of the ten of the songs and explores different emotional territory. The title song a folky, self-penned mantra to the strength of a woman certainly demonstrates the singer-songwriter’s passion for other women in a difficult relationship. Even In The Rain is superbly written and produced, with a chorus hook as instant as getting wet in the rain and guitar lines throughout that keep you interested in every note that follows. In My Dreams ambles along with a host of elements perfectly suited to a Sunday brunch: plucked guitars and mandolin, easygoing percussion, and a touch of steel. She and her Nashville pickers make this sound as eloquent and contemporary as can be. Play it again and again and remember the name: Cindy Kalmenson.

Maverick Magazine United Kingdom

Stunning songwriter and singer and founder of the popular Girls With Guitars collective, Cindy Kalmenson is back with another lovely, intelligent release. Witness follows up her impressive 1998 debut Let Me Out Here and exceeds it in self-assured, accomplished writing. On Witness, Kalmenson’s voice is a cross between the bright sweetness of Nanci Griffith and the emotional complexity of Patty Griffin. It absolutely glides over backing tracks played by the likes of Dave Pomeroy, Pat Bergeson and Al Perkins. Lyrically, Kalmenson is biting (“Hobo Rock Star”), plaintive (“Imagine That”) and multilingual (“Gracias a la Vida”). Throughout, she is smart, adept and masterful.

Performing Songwriter Magazine Jan. 2003

Possessing an indescribably unique voice, sharp lyrical acumen, and permeating personality, Kalmenson is equal parts enigmatic grace and fun-loving sass. This second release, co-produced by Jon Randall and Kalmenson, is stunning in its beauty — the wistful and gorgeous title track (where the self-destructive mate is told “I don’t wanna be, I don’t wanna be a witness/There’s a difference between living your life/And waiting to die”) won 1st place at this year’s MerleFest, and the compelling “Right or Wrong”, which would be on radio if Cindy were on a major label, took 3rd place. She can charm you with the depth of her expressiveness on “Even in the Rain” and “Imagine That,” then disarm you to involuntary broad smiles with the nicely-off-kilter “Hobo Rock Star” and “Good Bad Habit.”

The Amplifier Bowling Green, Ky

Well now, this is most interesting. All of these songs were written and performed by Cindy Kalmenson, but the range and variety of both her songs themselves and the quality of her voice are astounding for someone making only her second album (which was done in Nashville, Tennessee). Her “Gracias a la Vida” is such that if it were all you heard, you’d swear she was a latina cantadora. The first song on the album reminded me a bit of early Ani Di Franco and the second was more like Lucinda Williams, then she did one kind o’ like Bernadette Peters, but as I continued to listen, I realized that she doesn’t sound like anyone so much as herself. Her vocal range is not that broad as far as how many octaves she can cover, but in how she can match her voice to the temper of a tune without actually altering her tone that much. She can write amusing songs and sad songs and everything in between. Why haven’t we heard of this woman before? Nevermind. You will have a chance to see and hear for yourself just how talented she is when she opens for Jack Williams at Acoustic Sounds Café on February 13. And you don’t have to take my word for it: she won the Merlefest Chris Austin Songwriting contest in 2002 and Best Up-Tempo Song at the South Florida Folk Festival in 2003. She and Jack should complement each other very well and, seems to me, make for a very rewarding evening of live music. You don’t want to miss this one.

What at first seemed like a rather lackluster listening session gradually turned out to be a triumph for at least one corner of our industry. I refer to the outstanding output by the women of Americana. You think of this genre in terms of Lucinda Williams, Emmylour Harris , Patty Griffin , Kelly Willis and it other feminine leading lights. But there were a group of discs in this months’s listening session that deserve to take their places alongside the finest of what is already a superlative musical field. I usrge you to lend your ears to the works of Annie Burns, Cindy Kalmenson, Pieta Brown and Lynn Miles as well as to runners up Rattlesnake Annie and florence Dore. I assure you your attention will be more than rewarded.

Woman of Americana Triumph, Music Row Magazine July '02

Cindy’s follow up CD, Witness veers more toward pop than folk. She delivers a highly polished performance , co-produced by Jon Randall. The production which includes the expected guitars, bass, drums, pedal steel and occasional Hammond B# on most songs and some simple accompaniment on a few, sounds cohesive and never overpowers Kalmenson’s pleasing voice. Kalmenson pens catch lyrics and melodies that keep you listenin. The songs are almost all love songs viewed from a variety of angles. Even in the Rain paints a stark, vivid picture of a couple where the self destructive man gives little back, yet they still love each other. The following Good Bad Habit is a wonderfully funky humorous song about our foibles, and trying to find one not too dangerous bad habit for her to get over a lost love. This CD stands easily on its content. If you’re looking for an up and coming new artist with plenty of talent, check out Witness.

Sing Out! Winter 2002

Cindy Kalmenson’s tales of bittersweet romance and rock ‘n’ roll revelry make her second album, Witness (Big Gack Records) a perfectly sublime treasure, the stuff that could easily steer her towards stardom. While other artists rely solely on cookie cutter melodies or aping an attitude, Kalmenson mines a perfect blend of irresistible tunes and sly, provocative lyrics. Indeed, songs such as Imagine That and Good Bad Habit are fueled by a sense of irony and intelligence, two elements that allow her to stand apart from the competition. The title track alone is well worth the cost of admission, a heartbreaking rumination about watching a friend (lover?) self-destruct. Taken in tandem with the other lovely ballads that dominate this set, Witness provides ample testimony to her engaging
abilities.

Goldmine Jan 2003

Folkwax Rating: 9
Reader Rating: 8
Why Isn’t She A Star?, (03/06/03)
Why isn’t Cindy Kalmenson a major star? She’s got the voice, sort of a Dolly Parton soulful soprano which she uses with intelligence and humor, and she’s surely got the songs, as the nine originals on Witness, her second CD, illustrate. Once you’ve heard the Folk-friendly ballad “Even in the Rain,” you won’t forget this man, this woman, or their relationship. In a different mood, Witness offers searingly intimate portraits of the emotions of despair, love, and loss — and the strength needed to face them. The poignant, intimate “Washington Street” suggests that we may not know all about those we love — but then maybe we don’t need to. “Imagine That” and “Right or Wrong” offer insight about two sides of a similar story, the former turning away a lover who seems to have changed his mind and the latter a soulful look at a woman who isn’t changing hers. A former Spanish teacher, Kalmenson adds a vivid cover of “Gracias a La Vida” (“Thanks to Life”), a song by Chilean writer Violetta Parra which gives thanks that even the smallest and most unlikely bits of life enrich the journey to love. It really wouldn’t be a Cindy Kalmenson project without a dash of humor, too, and here it’s found on three songs, “Good Bad Habit,” “Hobo Rock Star,” and especially “Man of My Dreams.” One listen to Witness and you’ll have to listen again, and you’ll not forget the characters you meet or the insight of the writer who has created them.

Side note: Kalmenson lives in Nashville, and the respect she’s held in there shows in the quality of the players who sat in with her on this disc, including drummer Larry Atamanuik, bass player Dave Pomeroy, mandolinist Brent Truitt, keyboard player Steve Conn, guitarist Pat Bergeson, and guitarist, sometime harmony vocalist, and producer Jon Randall.

Folkwax