Girls Like Us (HighHorse, 2009)

Two women singing together - unless one of them is Emmylou Harris - is not an obvious route to even moderate commercial success. In an ideal world, there would be plenty of opportunities for women: duets, trios, quartets, whatever, no problem. But in reality...female musicians often are relegated to a special niche. Rhythm Angels is Celeste Krenz and Rebecca Folsom, and their pairing is a risk, but one that pays off.

Actually, it was a fairly safe bet because their vocal chemistry was tested live first. Two accomplished performers in their own right, Krenz and Folsom realized they stumbled on a good thing when they first performed live together at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville. Festival performances followed, and now the culmination of this lucky paring is the CD.

The 13 songs are a solid glimpse into the hearts of every woman - every intense, charismatic, bad-relationship-magnet woman. Most tunes were penned by Krentz and/or Folsom. The obvious stand-out by the writing/singing duo is If I Had a Gun with Krentz and Folsom delivering their lines to perfection. Their harmonies take on a darker, deeper tone that sends chills down the spine with lines like "If I had a gun, you'd be dead. One to the heart. One to the head. If I had a gun, I'd wipe it clean, my finger prints, off on these sheets."

That track is the strongest, but it's in good company. In an ideal world, this would be the first of many CDs from this duet.