The Moose Jaw Times Herald - Fraser Wareham, October 1, 2008
Pure acoustic guitar opens up this mesmerizing CD titled Finding Grace. Soft lyrics feather their way into your consciousness. Brilliantly written songs so emotional you can not help but get drawn in. Carrie’s voice stands on its own. Minimal arrangements that showcase a talent ready for the world stage. This voice is distinct and you will readily recognize Carrie when you hear her. A refreshing change from the overproduced cookie cutter sound alike hit machine infesting the current airwaves. Melancholy reigns here but it is a good hurt because you know Carrie is going to be OK. Tho despair can be heard the sweetness of that voice wraps around you like a warm hug from a long lost friend found on the lonesome highway of life. When even the chorus can be altered, leaving itself void of the “hook”, you realize it is not about making hits. It is about playing what you feel.
And, no matter the great quality of sound on this CD, which is well produced by Carrie Hryniw and recorded and mixed by Nik Kozub, when you get the chance to hear Carrie sing live, you truly appreciate the power and depth of this voice. Carrie belongs in large concert halls.
“Just Pretend” lets you know you are going on an audio trip relating to Carrie and definitively about Carrie and her personal self. “Pretty Things” is written about a dear grandmother and her life as it is, and you can feel Carrie’s words embracing her loved one keeping her warm and well. “Her house is full of pretty things/that keep her company”. A more heartfelt tribute I know not.
Then this not so well known artist takes a full on leap to tackle Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”. Carrie is up to the task delivering with as much soberness and insight as the man himself. Haunting melody with vocals so potent and yet again, LIVE, this song blew me away. Excellent!
My favourite song, “Broken Bones” is the fusion between deep dark poetry and wondrously arranged black dots floating on five lines and four spaces. “somewhere beneath your skin and heavy coat of cynicism/somewhere beneath your thin transparent taped on grin/I will find you/I will find you”. Carrie knows where the bottom is and how to escape and take you with her.
On “Here I Am”, Carrie and her brother Kyle do a little massaging of “No Woman, No Cry” by Vincent Ford , yeah not Bob Marley, as she knows how to get your attention.
“Finding Grace” I have eluded to in a pre-review as ranking up there with Roberta Flacks “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” and after listening to the CD I stand by that statement. “You said in order to stand first I must fall/in order to win first I must lose it all”.
Find it, buy it, listen to it, be calmed by it. You will love this album.
1 October 2008
Performing Songwriter Magazine - September/October 2008
Canadian artist Carrie Hryniw’s pop tunes on Finding Grace are rooted in an elegant combination of piano and guitar. She demonstrates sharp skills on both instruments and favors an understated delivery that keeps her vocals—equally tasteful and unadorned—front and center. The intimate production highlights Hryniw’s confessional lyrics, which tell the story of a woman who has been disappointed and let down by love.
Hryniw’s opening track, “Just Pretend,” with its shuffling, mellow acoustic guitars and breathy, almost stilted vocal phrasing, could be the female equivalent to any of Jack Johnson’s pop offerings. The spare, subtle harmonies of “Broken Bones” bring to mind Sarah McLachlan in her Surfacing days. As a whole, Finding Grace is a beautiful, albeit heartbreaking, listen.
10 September 2008
Press / Reviews
“Edmonton’s Carrie Hryniw called her debut disc of 10 original tunes Pieces of Me. As the title implies, it has a lot going on: songs inspired from challenging personal experiences; fluid layered arrangements; multiple points of view, even graphics for the liner she adapted from her work in the visual arts. In the end, the whole effect really does have a strength beyond the sum of the parts, marking the arrival of a serious new talent to watch out for.” ~ Roger Levesque with the Edmonton Journal
9 March 2008
You can contact Carrie at: info@carriehryniw.com
