It's easy to call
Shannon Curfman
the female equivalent of such hot-shot guitar-slingers as
Johnny Lang
, especially since
Lang
not only appears on her debut
Loud Guitars, Big Suspicions,
he co-wrote a few songs with her as well. And it is true that
Curfman
does play modern blues-rock that recalls
's, but it's not a direct copy, it's simply informed by the same influences. After all,
Loud Guitars, Big Suspicions
makes it clear that
has her own voice, one that's a little bolder and gutsier than
's. Throughout the record, her singing is impassioned and playing is firey. She does take the occasional stumble, but that's usually because the material is a little weak or undistinguished. That doesn't happen too often, though, and even when it does, it's not enough to make
Loud Guitars
anything less than a top-notch debut. [
was initially released as an independent album. It was re-released by
Arista
in September 1999 with a different cover and mix, along with some new songs.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine