Spotlight – Sick of Sarah

Sick of Sarah are an all girl power pop fivesome from Minneapolis, Minnesota USA who have come to my attention only very recently. They are playing at Stoke Sugarmill on 21 April, and after seeing their faces on the Sugarmill site, thought I would look into them.

Their wikipedia page has them down as “strong voiced punky-girl rock”, who took their name from a former roommate of lead singer/guitarist Abisha Uhl, when complaining about her name and who declared once that she was “sick of Sarah” – yes, her name was Sarah, since you asked.

Intrigued, I looked into these a bit more. I have now had a listen to their album 2205, in anticipation of maybe going to see them towards the end of next month when they are over in Stoke at the Sugarmill. I was mightily impressed with what I listened to, and although it is peaks and troughs (there is some filler on there), overall it is a really good listen. One thing that stood out to me is that it sounds like nothing else available at the moment, and it is naturally therefore hard to draw real comparisons to others for me. Wikipedia would suggest a sound similar to that of Tegan and Sara and The Dollyrots, but that means nothing to me in all honesty.

2205 is a solid collection of material though, and hints at a group with real potential. The songs are best described as power-pop, although there are hints of country, pop, indie and all sorts thrown into the mix.

Overexposure is an excellent opener, and grabs you on first listen, making you want to know what else 2205 will through at you over the course of its contents. Kick Back is another gem of a track, before the genius one-two of Kiss Me and Cigarettes takes it up yet another notch. There are some bits on here that sound like filler, but there is plenty to get your teeth into, and plenty to enjoy.

The album ends as brilliantly as it started, with El Paso Blue being another standout. The rest of the album may not quite live up to the highlights, but as a group of songs, there is enough here to justify a second listen, and to make the listener come back for more.

Some more exposure, and some more material of the standard of the choice cuts for 2205, and this will be a group to watch. Mainstream adulation could well come there way in the process also, and they could develop a real fanbase off the back of their latest record.

7.5/10