Out Singer/Songwriter Rachel Garlin Plays Johnny D's Sept. 16

Out singer/songwriter Rachel Garlin is due to stop by Johnny D's Uptown Music Club in Somerville's Davis Square on September 16.

Garlin is touring to promote her latest release, this year's CD Bound to Be Mountains, from Tactile Records.

Garlin's songwriting has been praised for its vivid portraiture of characters, who stories Garlin tells with deft lyrics and richly texture music, giving voice to a country-tinged folk sensibility in which love, in all its forms, is accepted, celebrated, and elevated.

The new CD offers its share of love songs, from the triumphant ode to marriage "I Have, I Will" to the unapologetic, fondly sentimental "Hey Garrett" and the uplifting, tuneful "Broke Down House."

Other songs are deep-dyed with longing: "Decisions & Desires" traces the sharp, savage edge of attraction between two people already in relationships, "Love Her A Lot" suggests a mad, but respectful, same-sex crush on a straight girl, and "Wartime Gig" addresses yearning of a different sort: a longing for a normal family life that is fulfilled, briefly, only because of the extreme situations created by war's chaos, while "Better" resounds with sympathy for a sick friend.

Garlin's music and lyrics both demonstrate an ability to create concise, precise, and brightly colorful stories that fit into three-minute songs but feel complete. Garlin cites Suzanne Vega and Paul Simon as influences (and of the two, Vega is more evident in Garlin's work and delivery), but these songs offer irrefutable evidence that Garlin is a talent in her own right, who should have a long career ahead of her.

Garlin's show begins at Johnny D's, located in Somerville at 17 Holland Street, in Davis Square, at 8:00 p.m. on September 16.