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Julie Christensen’s story is woven into decades of Roots Music. A veteran of Leonard Cohen’s bands and tributes, she co-fronts Los Angeles post-punk rockers Divine Horsemen, which rebooted after 33 years to release new work in 2021 and 2023. The latest release is "The Price We Pay for Love." Christensen knows the value of a melody and well-crafted lyrics. Kevin Gordon’s cinematically sweeping, vividly drawn emotional landscapes reached her on a deep level. She and Brett Ryan Stewart coproduced 11 From Kevin: Songs of Kevin Gordon, crafting an album that refuses to be genre-typed. Julie’s post-punk Los Angeles pedigree informs it as much as her stints “singing jazz with a country accent” in Austin, where she met the musicians who would introduce her to Leonard Cohen. One single, extraordinary line in Gordon's “Gatling Gun” — "But my tongue remembers the shape of her name" —and one can see why any artist might do an entire album of his songs. “I'm really inspired by Bonnie Raitt, Joe Ely and others who’ve picked great songs by folks others may not know, as if they’re saying, ‘I've gotta let you in on this secret.’ Since I have a voice, I'm going to sing it.” That voice earned her induction into the Iowa Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame, and a long list of admiring peers and collaborators. After a listen to these 11 tracks, the tongues of Gordon’s fans, Christensen’s fans, or previously uncommitted listeners should also remember the shape of her name. -Lynne Margolis
