Singles Spotlight Review: Kim Richey

If You Don't Mind (3:31)
PRODUCER: Hugh Padgham
WRITERS: K. Richey, C. Prophet
PUBLISHERS: Mighty Nice Music/Wait No More Music, BMI
Mercury 02025 (CD promo)
In the past few years, Kim Richey has defined a sound so endearingly individual and recognizable that each new release from this wildly talented musician feels like an old friend who's returned from afar with new stories and fresh perspectives. On "If You Don't Mind," from the sorely under-appreciated album "Glimmer," the singer/songwriter channels the same kind of bewitching drifter feel heard on her previous single, "Come Around." The lyric calls the score on a relationship that's seen its better days, with the twist "Let's go see a movie/Baby, we could hold hands in the dark/For a little while we could forget who we are/Honey, if you don't mind, put it off till tomorrow/Let it lie for a day/Cause it only brings sorrow." Producer Hugh Padgham keeps the atmosphere of the verses somber, with a weeping guitar, a light beat, and a touch of bass leading the way; then a conundrum of instruments augments the sense of conflict at the chorus. This would make a fine addition to triple-A and Americana radio, where Richey has at last found an appreciative niche, though everything about "If You Don't Mind" calls out for mainstream action. In one three-minute song, Richey accomplishes what it takes most artists an entire album to instill. She is a precious gift to our musical world.