Michelle Malone’s Acoustic Winter: Quietly beautiful songs delivered with the voice of an angel and a heart of gold

Bringing little along with her on the journey but her guitar and that amazing voice, Michelle Malone has created a record that is both sadness and celebration, offering softly reverent guitar work and rich, sometimes layered vocals that land lightly as a bird on a branch. 

The songs on Acoustic Winter, some old, some new, are filled with quiet beauty and she sings them with a heart carrying some sorrow – not the kind of sorrow that weighs you down, more like a thread that stitches each of us inextricably together inside all of human experience. Love, loss, disappointment, gratitude, uncertainty, each makes a show.  And what comes through loud and clear is that for Michelle, it’s all precious cargo, and she holds all these achingly human experiences tenderly with soft, safe hands.

As you listen, you know you’re experiencing the moment of grace that lies at the center of all art  – when the artist gets out of their own way and lets the pure beauty of experience rise unencumbered by ego or self-consciousness.  All through this record, Michelle lets the songs sing her – and this listener, for one, is deeply grateful.  It’s no secret she’s a remarkable musician and performer – this collection continues to spill the beans that she’s also a really great human being.

I’ve seen a lot of words used to describe her over her 20+ year career – rowdy, raucous, swaggering, sentimental, gutsy, earnest, a powerful tour de force.  Acoustic Winter pleads we add two more: Pure Magic.

Deeply impressed & highly recommend.  Scoot here to treat yourself to some audio previews: http://www.michellemalone.com/audio/acoustic-winter/