Description
Expecting a few original (now defunkt) Bloodshot Records pressings back-in late May 2022
Puts the OUT off outlaw country. Bad ass country with a punky touch
2015’s Sidelong rides in the middle front, before seat belts, of a ’77 Buick Riviera, half joy ride and half escape. Rowdy punk rock insolence to the right, a bottle in a bag; organic three-chords-and-the-truth frankness to the left – one eye in the rearview mirror and one eye on the rough road ahead. It’s a hell of a trip. North Carolina’s Sarah Shook sings with a conviction and hard honesty sorely lacking in much of today’s Americana landscape. Always passionate, at times profane, Sarah stalks/walks the line between vulnerable and menacing, her voice strong and uneasy, country classic but with contemporary, earthy tension. You can hear in her voice what’s she’s seen; world weary, lessons learned – or not – but always defiant. She level-steady means what she says.
The Disarmers hit all the sweet spots from Nashville’s Lower Broad to Bakersfield and take Sarah’s unflinching tales out for some late-night kicks. The versatile guitar of Eric Peterson roams wide but never steers into the ditch. At times, it’s as simple and muscular as Luther Perkins’ boom-chicka-boom, or as downtown as Johnny Thunders (check those greasy riffs in “Nothing Feels Right But Doin’ Wrong”). There’s the chugging indie-rock snarl in “Heal Me” and the big sky horizon of a Cormac McCarthy western in “No Name.” “Keep the Home Fires Burnin'” shows an edgy Buckaroo mettle with the wicked lap steel work by Phil Sullivan. “The Nail” is a dark-souled garage rave-up with the swing of the Old 97’s and the backbone of Bob Wills, courtesy of John Howie Jr.’s on the money drumming. Aaron Oliva keeps the tempo of the band’s live performances on track with the sonic growl of his upright bass. The Disarmers keep in the pocket, tight and tough.
