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UncutMar 22, 2016Kempner's raw honesty encompasses the droll as well as the despairing. [May 2016, p.78]
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Mar 7, 2016Dry Food approaches the subject from a different angle to the tried-and-killed solo artist template of acoustic guitar plus deserted cabin with nothing but a glove puppet for company.
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Feb 26, 2016There are elements of anti-folk here, too, but as deliberately unpolished as these songs are, Kempner and band ensure that her songwriting talents aren’t muddied or obscured by it. Rather, they add to its realness, making these songs all the more powerful.
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Aug 17, 2015Kempner has a knack for these odd little about-turns that elevate Dry Food above the usual plainspoken acoustic indie fare.
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Aug 14, 2015It takes band mastermind Ellen Kempner exactly eight songs in 30 minutes to hook you and leave you wanting to hear more.
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Aug 14, 2015Her debut is antsy and ambivalently sexy.
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Aug 18, 2015On Dry Food’s eight heartbreaking observations, she teeters between aching insecurity and crushing tenderness.
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Aug 14, 2015Dry Food is an engaging statement, guarded and subtle at times, boisterous and revealing at others, and it’ll be exciting to see which elements win out as Kempner continues to polish her already glowing sound.
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Aug 14, 2015Pretty much every guitar band going is currently toiling in the same ’90s nostalgia mines that Kempner dives into here, but few are able to do so with both technical prowess and its emotive content intact.
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Mar 4, 2016With a stark lyrical dexterity and deliciously noodling guitar riffs, the album is torn between crippling sentiment and stark detachment.
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Q MagazineFeb 19, 2016The whole thing comes with a sort of knowing childishness, like reverting back to your most obnoxious teenage self after 10 Minutes with your family. [Apr 2016, p.112]