The House Carpenter's Daughter

We try not to make a habit of saying nice things about Natalie Merchant, but after making a gaggle of solo albums on which she always seemed a little too enamored with the sound of her own voice (not to mention the words coming out of it), she’s finally made a record we can warm to. The key is scaling back her ambitions. The House Carpenter’s Daughter is, as its subtitle helpfully tells us, “a collection of traditional and contemporary folk music,” and Merchant never tries to overpower these songs. Her haunting voice and the sweep of accordions and strings lend a simple, timeless quality to the opener, “Sally Ann,” a song barely more than a decade old. Guitars, organ, fiddle, and drums work up a dark, mean groove on “Diver Boy,” and Merchant’s quivering voice merely pulls it all together. She still injects her personality into these tunes (from her prickly tone on “Which Side Are You On?” there’s little question as to which side she’s on), but she does it without letting it walk all over them.