Hallie Spoor
Heart Like Thunder
(Independent)
3.5/5
Brooklyn-based Americana artist Hallie Spoor’s latest release, the Heart Like Thunder EP, provides an insightful lens into the folk genre. Spoor—who was raised in Colorado—shows the thematic context of folk’s rural roots through the connectivity of her storytelling. The EP offers a developing new voice to the folk landscape.
Although Spoor’s sound could be criticized as hokey and contrived, borrowing a little too much from Joni Mitchell, I feel her artistic voice remains powerful and relevant. In the short seven-track EP format, she hits all the right notes regarding thematic conventions of folk music.
She depicts a generational aspect of the genre on tracks like “Diamond Ring,” refers to a hard lifestyle on “Goodbye,” and shows a fundamental connection to place on “Shenandoah.”
In spite of lacklustre production value and a sometimes minimalist approach to instrumentation, Spoor has put forth a well-rounded feel-good EP.