The Good Graces Embrace Greatness

Singer, songwriter and guitarist Kim Ware turns memories into memorable songs with The Good Graces, as heard on new album Prose and Consciousness.

The tracks blend string-bending, soul-stirring indie-folk with the unabashed honesty treasured by fans of country music and Americana.

For instance, “Crickets” explains the frustration of butting heads with a friend to the point that future interactions might be a bit awkward. If you don’t know that feeling, you’re lucky, a loner or forgiving to a fault. The equally touching “His Name Was the Color That I Loved” shares Ware’s memory of her peach-farming father in a way that should connect with others’ rural experiences.

It’s not all front porch picking, as evidenced by the lush, orchestral opening of “Snow Angels.” The Good Graces run as a collective, not a band with a set lineup, allowing for such variety when it comes time to put Ware’s words to music.

It’s the strongest recording so far from Ware, the mind behind songwriters-in-the-round event the Atlanta Old Girls’ Club: a local equivalent of Nashville’s much-needed Song Suffragettes shows.

Coinciding with the release of Prose and Consciousness, The Good Graces will play their only full-band show of the year at Eddie’s Attic on Thursday, Nov. 14. It’s an early show, beginning at 7 p.m. with an opening set from Virginia Plane.

Photo by John McNicholas.