Kirsty MacColl

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• Genre: Celtic Folk

About

The daughter of Scottish folkie Ewan MacColl, this rootsy songtress offers some of the finest Jangle/acoustic-bred Pop this side of Robyn Hitchcock. Chiming guitars, the recruited talents of the inimitable Billy Bragg, and MacColl's charming, whiskey-flavored alto comprise these smart, near-perfectly crafted gems. Tracey Ullman actually scored a hit with MacColl's 1979 single "They Don't Know," and it's hard not to find something uproariously funny in song titles such as "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop (Swears He's Elvis)." Still, it's not all snacks and candy -- MacColl has a side as direct and fiery as her wit is sharp, a quality exhibited in cogent, broken bits of traditional folk songs like "Can't Stop Killing You," "Bad," and "My Affair." MacColl might be best known for her duet with Shane MacGowan on "Fairytale of New York." Sadly, MacColl was killed off the coast of Mexico in 2000.

- Kelly Bauman