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Press
There is nothing quite like hearing Deb Montgomery's voice soar above a crowd. Her songs have the purity of a much needed cry or fight. She gets right to the nuts and bolts of life with the truth about your heart in all its complexity and wonder.It's a testament to her success at achieving that end that people have called her shows everything from therapy to church, specially suited to those people who would never deign to attend or attempt to trust either.
Artists are natural risk takers, but what's remarkable has been the reaction: unabashed hunger for more of this kind of music. The audience's own risk in giving into that visceral need has had a great reward. Montgomery doesn't just sing the words they've been craving, but takes them with her through terror, anger, redemption, and finally to moments of pure beauty and tranquility. Montgomery gives people the feeling that light and love are on the other side of life's inevitable darkness and pain, and to not be afraid of either.
That mesmerizing combination of vulnerability and sheer rock energy - think PJ Harvey, Jeff Buckley, or even Emily Dickinson - comes easily for singer-songwriter Montgomery. It's likely that Paul Simon guitarist Mark Stewart had exactly that in mind when he called her voice, "both powerful and fragile," and insisted that Montgomery, "makes you want to hear every word she has to say."
A regular at some of New York's best venues (The Living Room, CBGB's Gallery, Southpaw), listeners are her primary partner as she returns to focusing on her live shows- she's poised on the edge of finding a larger audience. Montgomery has grown accustomed to dwelling in life's in-between spaces: she's a Canadian who lives in New York City, a rocker who plays acoustic guitar, and a religious vagabond. Ultimately, she's an artist who is only at home when she finds moments of enlightenment on her way from place to place, and her music springs from that transcendental worldview.