Sarah Blackwood - Way Back Home

Artist: Sarah Blackwood

Album: Way Back Home

Label: Stomp Records

Before Sarah Blackwood (aka "Sarah Sin") replaced her sister as the lead vocalist of breakout psychobilly band The Creepshow a little over a year and a half ago, no one knew who she was, and I doubt anyone would have signed her has a solo artist.  However, upon joining The Creepshow she inherited her sister's spotlight.  Subsequently, when the folks over at Stomp Records signed The Creepshow for their second album, Blackwood was able to sell herself to talent scouts as a competent, or at least profitable, solo artist.  The result?  Sarah Blackwood launched her first solo record, "Way Back Home," just two months after her studio debut with The Creepshow.

For the most part, Blackwood proves a competent singer/songwriter, and at the very least has a very strong voice.  Generally her vocals lean toward the more polished side of her Sarah Sin persona, reminiscent of The Creepshow's lone acoustic track, "The Garden," as opposed to the "smokey" vocals she's typically known for.  Although established fans may need to reacquaint themselves, her voice makes her quite approachable for a country or folk audience.

Stylistically her acoustic set bounces between straight-up country, a dash of soul, and of course the rockabilly roots inherent in her psychobilly background.  The album starts with "Lonely Parade," a quick paced, country/rockabilly influenced opener with fairly dark lyrics detailing "demon's intensions" and hopeless situations.  Usually an album's first track sets the record's tone, hinting at tracks to come, so I could see "Lonely Parade" raising a fan of The Creepshow's  hopes.  However, the second track, "Dyin' Day," suddenly launches into a purely country influenced based love ballad, completely changing the mood.  Then the third track shifts back to the dark opener, followed with the next track leaning back to the sunny country sound that defined the second track.  The trend continues, creating it's most out of place moment with "Bad job Jesus," a toe tapping blues influenced country tune about a "devil girl" who wakes up in a bed next to a "dead boy."  Because Blackwood continuously bounces back and forth between these two radically different approaches, the album never truly defines itself.  

Looking at the cover art, a picture of a smiling and very tattooed Sarah Blackwood in front of a quaint little country home, I suspect Blackwood may have been trying to reveal her many sides and musical influences.  But it just doesn't work as a single piece.  Her two sides are simply too different, making the album variation read more more like an identity crisis than an artistic statement.

Had Sarah Blackwood spent more time with The Creepshow before debuting her solo career she might have had a better idea of how to define herself.  As it stands, I have a hard time understanding who the album is geared towards.  The album has some undeniably great tracks, but I found it hard to appreciate them amidst the confusion.  Here's the bottom line: although Sarah Blackwood has an astounding vocal capacity, her solo career is premature.

One day I'm going to write an editorial about the sudden overload of lead punk vocalists putting out folk influenced solo albums. Until then, I have this review.