Fields of Gold: Singer-songwriter Chris Pureka
For every mood, there’s a song. There are the ones you play as you prepare for a night on the town; anthemic and unyielding. There are those you play when you’re staying in and cooking dinner; comforting and familiar. And then there are those you need for late night drives, with a mind full of thoughts and an uncertain heart. These are the moments that call for the music of someone like Chris Pureka.
Pureka is a master of atmosphere, using delicate acoustic picking and the husky timbre of her voice to tell the tale. Her songs are slow, measured and contemplative. At times they swell with steel and falsetto, but for the most part they unfold with the low rumble of an approaching storm.
On “California” Pureka sings of “what to bring and what to leave behind” on the drive out West. “You’ve got your clothes / You’ve got your Steinbeck novel / You’ve got your wine glasses / You’ve got your summer sandals.” The visceral imagery combines with Pureka’s spare strumming to create music that brims with raw, but muted, emotion. It may not be the Dust Bowl of Steinbeck’s time, but it’s still pretty gritty.
