Artist: Kim Acuna

CD: Shadows (Rock Rose Media)

Home: Anchorage, Alaska

Style: Rock/Pop

Quote: "She uses modified capos and creative tunings to make the guitar sing along with her".

By Jennifer Layton

The voice grabbed me right away. Gutsy and sweet at the same time. Kim Acuna can growl on one breath and sigh on the next.

She'd be a noteworthy artist for the voice alone, but she’s not done making an impression yet. She also makes some pretty cool sounds with her guitar. On Shadows, her debut CD, she uses modified capos and creative tunings to make the guitar sing along with her. The best example of this duet is on the second track, “Candle Light,” in which the music feels breathless as the vocal quietly reflects on life while watching a candle burn down. Beautifully sad illustration of a soul abandoned.

Her lyrics are real and unpretentious, simply talking to people, facing them head-on, saying bluntly what needs to be said to clear the air. “You Weren’t Gonna Say Goodbye” stands out for this very reason:

You weren’t gonna say goodbye, were you.
You looked at everyone else in the room, so did I.
I was afraid too.
You weren’t gonna say goodbye, were you?
I’m gonna be in your town soon.
I can’t touch but I want to see.
I’ll be there looking for you.
You’d better be looking for me.

Often there’s no trace of a rhyme scheme in the lyrics, which doesn’t hurt because she sings the way people talk. She also enjoys music like most people do – trying a little of everything. A Latin moonlit shuffle here, a little funk mixed with wailing fiddle there (check out Frank Sollivan’s work on “Someone You Love”).

Shadows is an appropriate title for a CD that explores feelings, moods, fears, and relationships in all shades of gray while using all the nuances possible in music. And of course, some really cool guitar sounds. Guitarists should definitely check this out.

www.kimacuna.com