Wreckers build upon girl-next-door charm

07/10/2006 7:42 PM, Reuters
Darryl Morden

The Wreckers are Dixie Chicks lite, more toe-tapping than foot-stomping and most certainly apolitical. The duo, comprising Michelle Branch and her best friend and former backup singer, Jessica Harp, brought its country-pop confessionals to the House of Blues in Anaheim on Sunday night for a generally mellow yet thoroughly charming performance.

Headlining some club dates before returning to the road as a support act for Rascal Flatts, the two women were spurred on by a crowd that was all theirs. Everything certainly clicked, with the predominantly female fans loudly singing along and waving hands to many numbers. In fact, both onstage and in the audience, there was a girls-night-out spirit.

Playing songs from its debut album "Stand Still, Look Pretty" (Maverick), the duo made it clear that even with Branch's past success, including a Grammy, this is a 50-50 partnership; they traded off lead vocals within many numbers and came together in rich, sister-like harmonies.

Backed by a four-man band featuring flourishes of slide Dobro and fiddle (with Branch's husband, Teddy Landau, on bass), it was hardly tear-down-the-saloon honky-tonk, but it also wasn't syrupy, overcooked Nashville fodder.

There is no denying that brown-eyed brunette Branch and blue-eyed blonde Harp have visual as well as musical appeal, plus they're personable, with free-spirited banter between songs.

Although their voices are similar, Harp is honey-coated Southern Comfort to Branch's full-bodied, pop-rock yearnings. The vocal combination especially shined on the recent hit "Leave the Pieces" and the aching "The Good Kind" (first featured on WB Network's "One Tree Hill").

Each woman also took solo spots on acoustic guitar, with Harp singing the reflective "Memphis" and Branch performing her 2000 ballad hit "Goodbye to You."

While the team could use more spunk and sass, the down-home "My, Oh My" and "Crazy People" -- about drawing the attention of would be-stalker boys and obnoxious men -- showed a playful side. A rock dynamic underscored the emotional downpour of "Rain."

The enthusiastic crowd called for an encore, and the appreciative duo returned with a swaying, wistful cover of Deana Carter's '90s country hit "Strawberry Wine," followed by the Wreckers' own ironic "Stand Still, Look Pretty."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter