INTERVIEWS
Laura Gibson solo set for Daytrotter (highly recommended!)
Laura Gibson Interview with The Portland Mercury
REVIEWS
“Late last year this Oregon singer-songwriter released If You Come To Greet Me(Hush), a short, quiet, tantalizing debut. The best songs, like “Hands in Pockets,” unspool slowly but not tentatively, nudged forward by Ms. Gibson’s smoky voice and not-quite-hopeless lyrics. Catch her on a Western tour this month (see lauragibson.net for dates) or seek out this CD, if only so you can start anticipating the next one.” – Kalefah Sanneh, New York Times
“A real find from the (SXSW) festival’s less-hyped margins, Laura Gibson sounds a bit like Jolie Holland, another winsome folksinger with an ear for barren, timeless music. “Hands in Pockets” is downright perky compared to some of Gibson’s If You Come to Greet Me, but the song, the album and the singer all radiate approachability and warmth.” – NPR
“And just when it seems the bucolic beauty might become overwhelming, Gibson reels off the jaunty, Jolie Holland-ish “Small Town Parade” and the slyly humorous “Country, Country.” Not since Canned Heat’s “Going Up the Country” has fleeing the city sounded so right.” Dan Strachota, SF Weekly
“There’s a quiet confidence to If You Come To Greet Methat makes it difficult to believe this is Gibson’s first record. Her clear voice is riveting and perfectly framed by subtle and tasteful instrumentation – muted trumpet, vibraphone, saw and other recorded and found sounds give the music a wistful feel and let these lovely songs of hope and heartbreak gently shine.” – Barbara Mitchell, Portland Tribune
“I recently discovered the new release, If You Come To Greet Me, by Portland, Oregon’s Laura Gibson. It is perfect backdrop to these grey days that winter brings. Laura sings with a sweet voice that sounds like it was lifted from your grandparents old records. You can almost hear the breaking of her heart between the plucks of the guitar strings” – Your Standard Life
“This is a stripped down affair on analog tape, highlighting Gibson‘s delicate voice and guitar performance. The songs themselves are haunting portraits of nostalgia and intimacy, of loneliness and of wide-eyed hope. ” – Cool As Folk
“The record is fragile yet elegant, and at points I felt like it would shatter in my presence like an ancient piece of glass. It’s slow moving, artistic, luxurious, flowing and captivating. She brings forth a vibe that is very dreamy and innocent, and sometimes comes across almost childlike, like with “Broken Bottle” which opens with the tinkle of a musical jewelry box.” – Two Way Monologues
“This is a beautiful album that I think I’ll be able to put on the stereo 10 years from now and still enjoy.” – Palebear
“Her voice has the same power as other Leslie Feist and Chan Marshall, but it’s when she moves into a younger, almost naive style, that you really start to embrace Laura’s talent.” -Â Herohill
“It’s lonely yet full of soft, subtle movement, and it elicits a sentimental yearning.”If You Come to Greet Me” is my album of choice for studying, taking a nap or drinking a cup of coffee. If you like Norah Jones or Maria Taylor, then Laura Gibson is definitely the artist to follow.” – The Eagle
“The fragile beauty of the pieces at times evokes Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse and Lisa Germano. You get the sense that if she hurried up she may ruin the beauty of these pieces. Even on the most uptempo cut, “Hands In Pockets” she still draws out each word for maximum effect.” – The Label Project
“As with other albums that have captivated my ears lately (Casey Dienel, Megan Palmer, Elizabeth & the Catapult), the most enchanting quality of If You Come To Greet Me is its use of a wide variety of instruments. Among them are Laura’s nylon-stringed guitar, and the piano, bass, trumpet, violin, viola, musical saw, accordion, mandolin, banjo, lap steel, vibraphone, cello, and other music-making tools of her band mates.” –Muruch
Listening to Gibson’s gentle folk songs is like watching, hearing and smelling dry autumn leaves rustle around on a deserted street: It’s lonely yet full of soft, subtle movement, and it elicits a sentimental yearning, much like that time of year when temperatures drop and a season of life begins to fade. Which means that when her Hush Records release, If You Come to Greet Me, drops in November, it’ll be the perfect time of year to hole up in your aparment with Gibson’s antique voice, press your face against the rain-streaked windows and get sad. – Willamette Week
Oregon native Laura Gibson has a soft and delicate (but confident) voice that really gets me (in a very good way.) It’s easy to listen to (I heard her song “Hands in Pockets” play at Doug Fir’s restaurant a couple days ago) but it’s in no way lightweight. Don’t miss this great asset to modern Americana. – Portland Mercury
Laura Gibson Signs with Hush, Preps New Record
August 15th, 2006 by: MARK BAUMGARTEN
This should be a story about a great event in local folk chanteuse Laura Gibson’s musical career, but it’s not. It’s really a story about how lucky Hush Records is. The Portland label—which counts Norfolk & Western, Super XX Man and Kind of Like Spitting amongst its current roster, and boasts alum like the Decemberists and Corrina Repp—has managed to sign Gibson and will be releasing her breathtaking debut If You Come to Greet Me
The album, which could sloppily be described as a more dope version of a Jolie Holland album (if you take dope to mean more beauty, innocence and patience), was recorded at Type Foundry Studio by Norfolk & Western’s Adam Selzer…Like many who record with Selzer at Type Foundry, Gibson found herself being backed by the N&W crew throughout much of the recording. The result is an album of quiet beauty, the arrangements giving the songs an understated depth that manages to embolden the Gibson’s compositions without overshadowing them. – Willamette Week
“It takes a lot for a female vocalist to win me over, but Laura Gibson has done just that. Her reflective, rainy-day ballad, “The Longest Day” pairs her creaking, aching croon with sweeping strings, melancholy piano and her carefully picked classical guitar to devastating effect. It’s total sad bastard music…sung by a sad bastardess, for a change. Gibson has the kind of voice everyone likes to describe as “sepia-toned,” which basically means its got a classy, old- timey quality to it (like an aged photograph), and it does. “The Longest Day” is the perfect centerpiece to this unreleased album, set amid slightly more upbeat songs that feature Rachel Blumberg’s shuffling drums and shared vocals with producer Adam Selzer (Norfolk & Western), and—if you’re taking suggestions, Laura—I think it would make for a perfect title track to your yet unnamed album.” – Localcut.com
Portland’s music scene is teeming with talent and creativity, so it’s even more remarkable when a local artist instantly grabs your attention and holds it. Laura Gibson has a charmingly shy stage manner, but her songwriting and vocals are incredibly confident and instantly memorable.
There’s a wonderfully nostalgic, almost autumnal quality to Gibson’s music – both innocent and melancholy, it harks back to her small-town childhood in the best possible way. With a full-length album just completed (but not out), expect to hear much more about this rising talent in the near future. – PORTLAND TRIBUNE 6/29/06
“Captivating. Endearing song-stories…Gibson seems most at home singing about it.” – The Oregonian (feature and live review 4/17/06)
Praise for Gibson’s debut EP Amends:
“Folk thrives on intimacy, with sparsely accompanied artists baring their emotional tribulations in cozy venues. Laura Gibson extends this personal connection beyond her performances, recording lo-fi Christmas carols and sending them with cards to fans and sharing soup recipes with her online audience. She hasn’t announced plans to ladle her beer-and-cheese broth to concertgoers from a community cauldron…Gibson uses her clear, confident vocals to keep listeners riveted while she experiments with subtle, slightly askew strums.” ANDREW MILLER – The Portland Mercury (12/22/05)
“Laura Gibson announces her presence in rich, knowing alto tones, following her melodies adroit paths through her lyrics as though hiking nimbly through a forest pausing to point out emotionally evocative moments along the way.” – Jeff Rosenberg Willamette Week (8/31/05)
“Laura Gibson’s songs lure in the listener as they develop with a maturity and phrasing that makes her distinctive among West Coast songwriters”. – Mike Meyer, Music Director KRVM-fm Eugene
“a voice that compels you to stop and listen.” – Amanda Thorne, KMTT 103.7 – Seattle
“Amends” is a compact but strong quilting of six songs revealing remarkable maturity and dexterity, weaving vocal influences from the soft glide of Cowboy Junkies, to harmonies akin to Buddy and Julie Miller, to the emotive push of Over the Rhine’s Karin Bergquist”. – The Oregonian (7/29/05)
“Laura Gibson is rich in talent and alluring in style. Her music connects on so many different levels”. – Kevin Welch – Music Director KINK 102 – Portland
“Candid, heart-felt expressions of fear, tenderness, wanting and gratitude. Hers is more than a gift in music, it is a gift in perception, she is gifted at being human, and reminds the rest of us that being human is a gift.” – Donald Miller, author blue like jazz