Katie Terrio - Ledger Review

Katie Terrio's songwriting career has followed a more circuitous route than most. Beginning as the lead guitarist in a rock band, where she didn't write much, she eventually struck out on her own as a solo artist who did write all her own material.

But after a promising 2002 debut, ‘‘Songs from the Overground,'' Terrio slipped out of sight until this month. Jan. 25 is the official release date for her newest album, ‘‘Radar Screen,'' and she'll be performing every Tuesday in January at Toad in Cambridge with her band.

Terrio, who lives in West Newton and works by day as a copy editor at Ziff-Davis, laughs as she she starts detailing her roundabout path to the new CD, which is a tasty melange of folk-rock and alternative rock sounds.

Comparisons to Liz Phair are apt, although Terrio's music is more roots-oriented, stripped down acoustic-based pop. Other tunes, like the opening ‘‘Lipstick Baby'' suggest Lucinda Williams rocking out in a gritty roadhouse.

‘‘In the rock band, Jack Frosting, I was the lead guitarist and not the main songwriter. The band consisted of some of the guys from (Boston alt-rockers) Orangutang and Bulkhead, and it was kind of time off from my own writing,'' she said. ‘‘I did write a few songs then, but when we did them we realized they didn't sound like that band. That was really why I left the band; I wanted to try something else, where I could put more songwriting chops more in front.''

Terrio's first solo effort stayed in that alt-rock category, but her clear, ringing alto voice garnered lustrous reviews. Three of the tunes from that first CD have been included as bonus tracks on this CD, but in newer versions which pare them down.

The biggest difference between the two albums might be producer Adam Steinberg, who has worked with Sheryl Crow, Amy Fairchild, Todd Thibaud and the Dixie Chicks. Terrio said she feels Steinberg was invaluable in focusing her music.

In fact, Steinberg accompanies Terrio on guitars, bass, drums, keyboards, ‘‘and everything else'' on this CD, as the liner notes attest.

‘‘A lot of the first record's songs were written very quickly, right before we went into the studio. It was a little angular type of rock,'' Terrio said. ‘‘Here, we took parts of that first record and honed in on them, like the essential melody, and cleaning out the instrumental mix to make the vocals all clearer. I worked hard on developing my vocal range, and in general we worked on taking the quirkiness out of the arrangements.''

Don't mistake that for taking the individuality out of the music. Terrio's new effort provides ample proof of the appeal of her sinuous voice, along with plentiful hook-filled choruses.

‘‘Adam was basically saying over and over, ‘Take the straight path,''' Terrio said. ‘‘He kept me focused on what was the most real and what I enjoy most: singing and getting my lyrics across to people.''

In preparation for the album's release, and her busy spring of promoting it, Terrio has assembled a quartet of some of Boston's best rock veterans to accompany her: Seth Pappas on drums, Bob Enik on lead guitar and John Rapoza on bass have already played a half-dozen shows with the new material, and Terrio admits the Toad residency is a chance to test the live versions before taking the show on the road.

It does seem like the three-plus years between albums is a long germination period, however, and it turns out there's more to that story.

‘‘The second album was held up for a lot of reasons,'' Terrio said. ‘‘Without a big recording contract, money and scheduling was a problem. And then in 2002 we went into the studio and recorded a whole album with a band - and ended up scrapping it.

We just decided that what came out of those sessions was not me, and not the way I wanted to present my songs.

‘‘I'm thankful for that experience, because I think it yielded a much more meaty record this time.

We simply took some time and regrouped.''

‘‘Radar Screen'' was written over a longer period of time, while Terrio was also finishing college at Emerson. She's now attending graduate school at Suffolk University, studying interior design.

But before you get the idea she's an egghead, she's quick to note with a laugh, ‘‘I am one of the few people to actually flunk out of Berklee School of Music. Most people have these great stories how they dropped out to go out and play, but I just simply got a report card with actual F's on it, and was told to go home.''

Terrio, who lived in Hingham in the 1990s before moving back to her hometown, says her work as copy editor, both on a freelance basis, and now on staff at Ziff-Davis, has helped her refine her songwriting. And once again, Steinberg provided some guidance.

‘‘I'm not a very linear writer, and that's another thing Adam has helped me with, making my lyrics more understandable,'' Terrio said. ‘‘I usually come to a song with two or three lines which set the stage, and then progress on to a musical idea. Like ‘Lipstick Baby' began with an opening line, and then I just kept going from there, almost stream of consciousness. ‘Bird' is about going from the East Coast to California - my sister was out there and I was visiting her - and how it felt like I was going to Mars. There's a lot of melancholy and longing in that one.

‘‘Overall I think ‘Radar Screen' is more edited, more concise, and much more consistent than my previous work.''

Over time, she said, ‘‘I feel like my songwriting is much more honed, with more solid melodies. When I was younger I'd just play my guitar until something hit me, for a song. Now I know where I want to go, I know my way around songwriting better and I know my instrument better. I feel much more confident about knowing what works, and what can be left aside.''

It what might rightly be dubbed a summit meeting of Boston's best female rock songwriters, Terrio joins Amy Fairchild and Braintree's Carla Ryder for a show at the Paradise Lounge in Boston on Feb. 25, when new releases by all three will be celebrated.

Katie Terrio At Toad, 9:30 p.m. every Tuesday in January, 1912 Mass. Ave, Porter Square, Cambridge. 617-497-4950. Also with Amy Fairchild and Carla Ryder at the Paradise Lounge in Boston Feb. 25 for CD release party. 969 Commonwealth Ave., Boston.