Sarah June - In Black Robes

  by Andrew Carver

published: 29 / 5 / 2010

---

A whispered husky 1 ... 2 ... 3 leads in Sarah June’s sophomore album ‘In Black Robes’, and the hushed feel runs through much of the album. ‘Robes’ was recorded in June’s apartment and sounds like it - the echo of high ceilings, June’s girlish voice and spare, stop-start acoustic guitar give an intimate feel to 13 songs full of dark thoughts and jazzy overtones. Death stalks through the album, but is treated without the usual melancholy. The doomy ‘Crossbones in Your Eyes’ turns the prospect of death into a jaunty dance of skeletons, ‘Judgment Day’ shrugs at the apocalypse. On ‘The Reaper’ June’s fingersnapping underlies her insouciance towards an acquaintance’s death. Even the songs that aren’t directly about death or dying are getting close to the final curtain call of ‘The Reaper’ or skeletons seem to pop up in every tune. ‘Brand of Bitterness’ switches the guitar to some brushed percussion and bass. "Peel the label off my bottle of regrets," June trills while obliquely wishing for some unhappiness to befall whoever caused them. ‘Paper Lantern’ speculates on what she’ll become as she ages. Like opener ‘Cowboy’, a collection of apparently random musings, the title is only a sidelong reference to the tune’s lyrics - will her voice shake like a paper lantern when she grows old? As the album comes to a close she tackles ‘Sally Go Round the Roses’ - the oft-covered hit by girl group the Jaynetts, and makes it sound more than usual like a sotto voce threat. Fans of Marissa Nadler and Eleni Mandell should both find something to enjoy in June’s nocturnal meanderings.

Track Listing:-

1 Cowboy
2 Crossbones in Your Eyes
3 Judgment Day
4 From My Window High
5 The Reaper
6 Bluesy Melody
7 Brand ofBitterness
8 Paper Lantern
9 In Your Chevrolet
10 Motown
11 Sally Go Round the Roses
12 Fencepost
13 Til You Hit the Pavement

Post A Comment

---

Comment

Name

your name

Location

ie London, UK

Submit

Check box to submit

Adam Coxon
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson

Dixie Ernill
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart

Malcolm Carter
Marie Hazelwood
Mark Rowland
Nick Dent-Robinson
Nicky Crewe
Nige Nudds
Philamonjaro
Richard Lewis
Shirley Procter
Spencer Robertshaw
Steev Burgess
Steve Kinrade

Steve Miles
Tommy Gunnarsson
Zena Grieg