Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

THE CAT, BEAVER, BEE is the debut EP by Texas country singer-songwriter Emily Herring, a companion to her first proper full length disc, MY TEARS WILL BE RELIEVED. Herring’s music is infused with Appalachian inflections and instrumentations, music is readily available, whether one needs an imitation of it, even an excellent one, remains a question. Best begin with the EP and see if more is necessary, or desired.

The standout track on THE CAT, BEAVER, BEE is “What Will I Do?” a country blues tune that plays to Herring’s strengths (vocals and dobro), and that of her band (Doug Deforest, bass and percussion and Tim Crouch, mandolin and fiddle). Herring falls astray when her topics range into the political. Her “Has Country Gone To Hell?” bemoans the reaction to the Dixie Chicks’ foot-in-mouth disease, even as such sympathy is misplaced, given that no one went to jail, no one got fined, no one got…well anything, other than the loss of some airplay or some fans, neither of which are guaranteed to anyone. On the other hand, Herring’s cover of “East St. Louis Blues” is fabulous, breathing new life into a classic composition.

Impeccably produced by Deforest and Herring, THE CAT , BEAVER, BEE is just enough to whet one’s appetite for more if such is desired, and short enough to serve as an introduction for those not otherwise interested in the genre. Satisfactory, on both counts.