Lakeshore Weekly News, Minneapolis, MN
January 4, 2001

Minnetonka singer-songwriter Katy Tessman shows off her clear folk-singer voice on "Wash It Away," the first track of her new album Fall. She's like Natalie Merchant, but more confessional and conversational. The layers of ocean that drum on "Wash It Away" make it sound like Tessman reveals herself to the listener during a stroll along the beach.

With "Bright Chair," The focus shifts to someone else who "sees his shadows in his wake." the orchestra bells and the earnestness in Tessman's voice are very reminiscent of Janis Ian. The line, "Lord knows, by God, I will try" evokes that feeling of being in church for a guitar mass, but with more secular subject matter.

"Fall," the title track, is very Lilith Fair; Tessman's voice sinks into the lower register like Paula Cole or Sarah Mac Lachlan. It offers a lot of action for a mid-tempo song, with lovers that "double back and spring up."

The music of "Make You Stare," with Tessman on mandolin and Randy Sabien on violin, is straight out of the Irish band The Waterboys' songbook. As its words suggest, the song's lyricism may "warm your heart, make you swoon."

"Dip, Dip and Swing," a song about Tessman's first trip in the Boundary Waters, is quintessentially Minnesotan, as "A loon lands clumsily on the glass lake / The air is clean and smells of sweet wood." The music brings to mind the band Poi Dog Pondering, with its eclectic mixture of African shells, wind chimes, clappers and assorted bells.

"Odd Timing" changes the album's timing by making thing funkier, pouring electric guitar into the mix. This is one of Fall's best songs because it differs from the folkiness of most of the album.

"Along" exemplifies again how good Tessman is at digging into her bag of insecurities, with the "lump in my throat" that "won't go away," and "Old scenes / I see my past / Another name / why did I go so fast."

"Figured Out" shuffles with cymbals and shakers, but the lyrics are a bit more cryptic and mystical, such as "Soon he will complete his dance of Maya / Orion will show us the way."

"A Day is a Day" closes Fall with several breaths of wisdom: "Life is a pattern of experiences to savor not endure / Try to add laughter and luster to your life / Read more, dust less, admire the view despite the weeds."

It makes a perfect ending for an album that's worth gently savoring.

Photography by Jon Duder.