Mary Lou Lord - Got No Shadow (1998)

Mary Lou Lord (born March 1, 1965) is an indie folk musician, busker and recording artist.

Like Elliott Smith before her, Mary Lou Lord jumped ship from indie-rock-cred factory Kill Rock Stars and left behind the small scale, jewel-box renderings of her folk songs. Her new work, describing the wanderlust days she spent between her home in Boston and her West Coast hideouts of Olympia and Los Angeles, are layered with multitracked vocals and vibrant guitars. "Western Union Desperate" features a Byrds-y 12-string interlude, and the doubled vocals on "Shake Sugaree" will have you thinking that you went to bed in 1998 and woke up in Topanga Canyon circa 1974 during the So-Cal folk rock heyday. The hum of "His Latest Flame" shows that Lord isn't straying too far from her indie-pop roots, she's just stretching out to fit the larger frame that a record deal affords. --Lois Maffeo