Christy Schnabel
Ugly Beauty, Atlantic Records, 1997
Schnabel delivers with an alluring voice, rich in blues-inflected attitude. She's tough enough to stand her ground on a punk rocker like "LaLaLa", but it's on the gentler ballads like "Way Down" and "Forgotten" that Schnabel really shines, or, rather, smolders.
CMJ New Music, 1997 by Matt Ashare
Duchess, Blackball Records, 2005
I Know What I Like. No debate necessary. Here are the best records of 2005:
8. Duchess: Duchess (Blackball Records) Singer- songwriter, Christy Schnabel, formerly of Ugly Beauty, blends styles old and new to produce a beautiful, eclectic record that alternates between lean, spunky, post-rock and a sparse haunting Americana feel.
1. The National: Alligator (Beggar's Group)
2. Marah: If You Didn't Laugh, You'd Cry (Yep Roc)
3. Riddle of Steel: Got This Feeling (Ascetic)
4. C-Rayz Walz: Year of the Beast (Definitive Jux)
5. Clem Snide: The End of Love (SpinArt)
6. Common: Be (Geffen)
7. The White Stripes: Get Behind Me Satan (V2/ Third Man)
9.Every Time I Die: Gutter (Ferret Music)
10. Low: The Great Destroyer (Sub Pop)
Runners Up: Spoon: Gimmer Fiction (Merge) Aimee Mann: The Forgotten Arm (Superego) The New Pornographers: Twin Cinema (Matador)
by Scott Harrell (Tampa Bay Weekly)
Lotusland, Penny One Records, 1999