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Oh Susanna – Short Stories
It’s been almost 4 years since Oh Susanna (stage name of Canadian Suzie Ungerleider) released her last album, so while this is a release that has been eagerly awaited by many, she’s also going to be a new name to a good proportion of people. Thankfully, it’s an album that has been worth the wait and ‘Short Stories’ will both reward those who know her work and captivate new listeners.
From her debut EP through to this new disc there is both continuity and surprise in her material, from the dark murder ballads of ‘Johnstown’ through the melody driven songs on ‘Oh Susanna’ she successfully brings varied influences together. ‘Short Stories’ continues this theme of musical evolution and while you can pick out elements of her previous work this album is markedly different from what has gone before.
As the title suggests, the 11 songs are all full and substantial tales with real stories to tell, but what really stands out is the way these are delivered – there’s a literary and cinematic edge that is evident throughout, and the personal lives of the songs’ protagonists are viewed in a documentary film style.
Like all her albums there’s a solid, but fairly discreet alt-country feel in both the delivery and the instrumentation which includes various guitars, pedal steel, mandolin and percussion – the addition of a string quartet on a couple of songs adds to the cinematic, widescreen feel, and this succeeds in giving ‘Miss Liberty’ an epic feel. This cinematic theme continues into ‘Beauty Queen’ and ‘Greyhound Bus’, they both have strong lyrics, evocative music and are full of imagery making it easy to put pictures to the songs.
Her vocals are at their best on ‘Short Stories’, she has a distinct and easily identifiable voice and singing style that is perfect for this material and instrumental backing, and she carries of the acoustic tracks and fuller songs with equal ease.
There’s little not to like here, superb writing and performances throughout make this a substantial and impressive album. Very highly recommended.
OH SUSANNA - SHORT STORIES
Oh Susanna
CD (Cat No: 13246)
OH SUSANNA - SHORT STORIES
