Sarah Shook & The Disarmers – Sidelong [Limited Edition LP]

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing including digital download. 2017 release. North Carolina’s Sarah Shook sings with a conviction and hard honesty sorely lacking in much of today’s Americana landscape. Always passionate, and at times profane, Sarah stalks/walks the line between vulnerable and menacing. You can hear in her voice what’s she’s seen; world weary, hard lessons learned-or not-but always defiant. She level-steady means what she says. The Disarmers, with their snarling boom-chicka-boom guitars and an Old 97’s swing in the rhythm section, keep it in the pocket. Tight and tough. Sidelong rides in the middle seat, before seat belts, of a ’77 Buick Riviera blasting down a dirt road. Rowdy punk rock sneer to the right, a bottle in a bag; organic country three chords and the truth honesty on the left-one eye in the rear view mirror and one eye on the rough road ahead. It’s a hell of a ride. Writing with a sense of urgency-so refreshing these day