Tres Chicas

Tres Chicas are more than just friends -- they're a sisterhood of song. When Caitlin Cary (ex-Whiskeytown), Tonya Lamm (ex-Hazeldine) and Lynn Blakey (Glory Fountain) bring their voices together, they convey sweet heartache and the world-weary acceptance that comes to insightful gals on the tall side of thirty. Their frayed harmonies saunter over melodic folk-rock gems (some culled from their previous bands) and well-chosen covers (Loretta Lynn, George Jones, Lucinda Williams) that sparkle even brighter thanks to ex-dB and North Carolina indie icon Chris Stamey's crisp production. With Blakey's sweet vulnerability on songs like "Heartbeat" ("Some people fall in love, some of us stumble around"), Lamm's languid rhythm and fascination with the unknowable on the Hazeldine tune "When You Sleep" ("All I want to know is in the secrets you keep/When you sleep do you dream?"), and Cary's wordplay, sounding ever like Christine McVie on "Desire" ("Wishing gave me her number/And Waiting won't answer the phone/You're hiding out at Desire's house"), each Chica brings her own personality to the fore.

MEREDITH OCHS