Sara Watkins's self-titled debut is set for its Nonesuch release next Tuesday, April 7, and the new album "is quietly authentic as it mesmerizes," says the Huffington Post. "Sara's strong yet sometimes whispered vocal approach on these tracks conveys all it needs to without one ounce of overkill ... picture Emmylou Harris with touches of Edie Brickell and Rickie Lee Jones." Sara offers her own interpretation of songs by a diverse range of writers and as many of her own self-penned tunes, which the review calls "musically engaging, and they also reveal Sara as a serious lyricist with a mission ... Sara Watkins firmly establishes the woman as folk's newest herald, and a future force of nature to be reckoned with." Q magazine lists the album track "Give Me Jesus," arranged by Sara and Chris Thile, among the Top 50 Essential Tracks of the month.
Sara Watkins's self-titled debut is set for its Nonesuch release next Tuesday, April 7, and, says music writer Mike Ragogna in the Huffington Post review, the new album "is quietly authentic as it mesmerizes ... Sara's strong yet sometimes whispered vocal approach on these tracks conveys all it needs to without one ounce of overkill ... picture Emmylou Harris with touches of Edie Brickell and Rickie Lee Jones."
As a member of Nickel Creek, with Chris Thile and her brother Sean "created some of the most legit folk music of our time," says Ragogna. "[T]heir amalgam of styles and influences invented a sound that, simultaneously, was new and old, and that furthered folk with the younger demo as they impressed and accumulated many generations of older fans."
And now, on her first solo project, Sara offers her own interpretation of songs by a diverse range of writers, including John Hartford, Jimmie Rogers, Tom Waits, Jon Brion, and Davíd Garza, and as many of her own self-penned tunes, which Ragogna calls "musically engaging, and they also reveal Sara as a serious lyricist with a mission." What's more, the stellar cast of supporting musicians assembled for the project, including Brion and Sara's Nickel Creek cohorts, "interpret the album's mood, perspective, and [producer] John Paul Jones' understated sonic blueprint without ever trying to redesign it."
Ragogna concludes:
In a perfect world, this album wouldn't be categorized as folk since it really is what country music should be—simple, deep, an unassuming voice of the people, and descended from the house of The Louvin Brothers and Bob Wills. Regardless, Sara Watkins carries the flag for folk on an album so rich that, in the very least, it should be an obvious Grammy nominee to anyone who really understands the genre ... Sara Watkins firmly establishes the woman as folk's newest herald, and a future force of nature to be reckoned with.
Read the complete review at huffingtonpost.com.
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Q magazine lists the album track "Give Me Jesus," a tune arranged by Sara and Chris Thile, among its Top 50 Essential Tracks of the month. To see the list and to rate the track yourself, visit qthemagazine.com.
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