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HAYSEED SWEETNESS

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Candye Kane is a buxom country mama with such an unaffected hayseed sweetness that it’s hard to believe she’s for real. But she is, and so is her singing. Fronting her honky-tonkin’ quartet Armadillo Stampede at the Music Machine on Saturday night, Kane covered Cline (Patsy that is), tugged at the old heartstrings with “Please Tell Me a Lie,” a tear-jerker that she wrote with Phil Alvin, and demonstrated her East L.A. white homegirl roots with a falsetto-perfect version of the barrio favorite, “Angel Baby.”

Kane’s aw-shucks sincerity was infectious, and she’s got a crack band, especially guitar picker Will Ray. Kane’s country purist approach makes her L.A.’s female answer to Dwight Yoakam, but she needs to get away from the hokum. A more original slant and better pitch control could make Candye Kane sweet music for traditional country fans’ ears.

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