North Carolina's Sarah Shook sings with a conviction and hard honesty sorely missing in much of today's Americana landscape. Rowdy punk rock insolence to the right, a bottle in a bag; organic three chords and the truth frankness to the left. 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. At times it's as simple and muscular as Luther Perkins' boom-chicka-boom or as downtown as Johnny Thunders. Sidelong is a record that will make you sit up and notice.
This is a new voice for a new country.