CARRIE RODRIGUEZ AND BEN KYLE

We Still Love Our Country

[Ninth Street Opus]

Carrie Rodriguez, who began her career as part of a duo with Chip Taylor, finds a new collaborator on this duets album with Ben Kyle from the Minneapolis band Romantica. On this eight-song set the two travel some familiar Americana territory, covering Townes Van Zandt (“If I Needed You”), John Prine (“Unwed Fathers”), George Jones (“You’re Still On My Mind”) and the Everly Brothers (“Love Hurts”). Kyle and Rodriguez display natural chemistry together, and her fine fiddle playing brings some distinctiveness to these well-known numbers. It’s with the less familiar tunes, such as Taylor’s “Big Kiss,” Kyle’s “Your Lonely Heart” and the duo’s co-written “Fire Alarm,” that the young partnership shows greatest promise. “Heart” has the earmarks of a honky-tonk standard, while “Alarm” sparks up a fun and feisty duet. Here’s hoping this outing is the start of a continuing collaboration. –Michael Berick

‘Kyle and Rodriguez display natural chemistry together. Here’s hoping this outing is the start of a continuing collaboration.’