Visualize Sheryl Crow in overalls, or maybe Ani Difranco with a down-home Texas perspective: that’s Terri Hendrix, the singer-songwriter-entrepreneur-czarina, in a nutshell. Born and raised in San Antonio and now living in San Marcos, Hendrix is a walking advertisement for sunny confidence and boundless enthusiasm, qualities that she’s been polishing along with her bright, sassy vocals and accomplished guitar playing over the course of three albums. Places in Between demonstrates how she’s taken those talents one step further, exuding an innate sense of street smarts and a keen eye for detail on all fifteen tracks, particularly “It’s a Given” and “Places in Between”—tunes that are simultaneously intimate and universal, telling stories that hold a listener even when the melody might not. Besides, how can you not love a singer who pines for a flush toilet and central air in her dream home, as she does on “My Own Place”? To pull that off suggests quite a career in the making. Keep your eyes and ears open as she whizzes past.
