Death To The Damsel
Small Batch, 2021
9/10
A Seattle based singer-songwriter who cut her teeth playing in Evening Bell and Slow Skate, these days Caitlin Sherman is taking the solo route, where her inimitable vocals guide this empowering listen that touches on themes of liberating oneself from their past in order to progress forward.
“If Not The Man” starts the listen with Sherman’s seductive, nearly haunting singing in a hazy setting that almost seems shoegaze inspired in its blurry Americana, and “War For You” follows with a vintage rock’n’roll spirit that’s bouncy, playful and with plenty of fuzz, too.
“Cosmic Or Chaos” lands in the middle, where a lush, and pretty landscape unfolds with plenty of modern indie-rock nods, while “Up The Street, Driving Down” offers a thicker setting as an undercurrent of alt-rock is met with a rootsy flavor. The title track, one of the album’s best, then showcases Sherman’s versatile pipes in an intimate yet charming delivery of folk influenced song craft.
“The All Seeing” and “Some Paradise Unseen” exit the listen, where the former is a slow burner of poetic power and emotive outpouring, and the latter welcomes piano in an eloquent and sparse finish to a very well thought out 10 tracks.
A record that is all substance and no filler, Sherman’s studio band brings in players from Fleet Foxes, J Tillman and Jamie Wyatt, and together they illuminate her gritty, melodic and unique brand of Americana on this very impressive effort.
Travels well with: Jaime Wyatt- Neon Cross; Lilly Hiatt- Walking Proof