Gina Villalobos
Rock 'n' Roll Pony
Kick/Laughing Outlaw

Gina Villalobos is a stunning new talent, as displayed on this collection of
11 original songs and one cover. It's only the Californian's second disc,
which makes the depth and maturity of her talent all the more exciting.
She will be pigeon-holed as a country artist but the range is much broader
than that.
Alongside a Lucinda Williams style, emotionally bare tunes like 'I'm
Alright' ("I think I need an operation/Come on and cut me up"), is a late
night, take-a-chance-and-dance number like 'Not Enough' and the charged
intensity of 'Why'. You could quibble about the production of Rock 'n' Roll
Pony (the songwriter handled it herself) and the musicians, while competent,
are not top-shelf. But this is a richly rewarding disc that gets better with
each listening and the promise of what the future might hold is truly
exhilarating. Villalobos is the real thing.
4 Stars, Dennis Atkins.