Hersh is harsh but good in solo effort

When Kurt Cobain killed himself in April 1994 I didn't feel like listening to music much anymore. So I turned to Kristin Hersh's Hips and Makers and found amazing solace. Her pain, whatever might have caused it, was exquisitely felt. Her new record, The Grotto, is her best since that solo debut. In recent solo albums, Hersh had tried to over-arrange and while albums like Sky Motel and Sunny Border Blue were hardly bad, they sounded a little churned out. The Grotto is a return to sparsity. Released simultaneously with Throwing Muses' new self-titled record, Hersh haunts with her uniquely spooky voice and guitar playing. Some mournful cello and background piano offer slight flavor to the arrangements, but the voice and the guitar are more than enough to get the listener to pay attention. Her love of stark Appalachian folk ballads and her motherly nature influences her work at every turn. While she isn't down-home enough to make something like the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, she is intimate enough to make one turn down the lights, light some candles and put on a pair of slippers. How can I say this? I know for certain. I've tried.