in terms of sound quality and performances, ‘Songs from the Ether’ is excellent. The word demo (short for demonstration) often conjures up images of a recording that lacks state-of-the-art sound quality-–not necessarily bad sound, although not state-of-the-art either. But ‘Songs from the Ether,’ which Kirkpatrick produced herself, has a very clean and rich sound. The only thing that might sound low-budget to some listeners is the lack of a full band; most of the time, Kirkpatrick's only accompaniment is her own acoustic guitar (although cellist Hannah Alkire joins her on a few tracks). Not that the minimalist, bare-bones accompaniment is a bad thing; the lack of a full band makes for a very intimate CD and really makes Kirkpatrick's lyrics stand out on vulnerable, introspective tracks like ‘Dark Angel’ and ‘Falling Still’. Slick, glossy production can, in some cases, be an attempt to camouflage a lack of talent, but Kirkpatrick doesn't need a lot of synthesizers and high-tech gloss to sound good. Demo or not, ‘Songs from the Ether’ underscores Kirkpatrick's considerable potential as both a lyricist and a vocalist.” -– Alex Henderson, All Music Guide

“The unplugged format has a way of separating the men from the boys and the women from the girls. Take away the high-tech production gloss one can get in the studio, or the high volume that lots of amplification can provide on stage, and the artist may become very naked and exposed. That's why the less-talented, more disposable singer/songwriters are likely to hit rock bottom when they're doing an acoustic solo gig in a small coffee house -– their incompetence becomes painfully obvious. But on the other hand, singer/songwriters who have serious talent tend to fare well when they're acoustic and unaccompanied; their strengths are highlighted. A perfect example is Libby Kirkpatrick, whose second CD, ‘Winged,’ is a collection of live performances from (1999). The Philadelphia native recorded ‘Winged’ in