SALON

Monday, Sep 24, 2012 2:30 PM UTC

Review: Thom makes her mark with ‘Flesh and Blood’

By

Topics: From the Wires,

Sandi Thom, “Flesh and Blood” (Guardian Angels)

After the success of “Merchants & Thieves” in 2010, Sandi Thom returns with her fourth album “Flesh and Blood”— an album she calls “a coming of age.”

Produced by Rich Robinson of The Black Crowes and released on her independent label Guardian Angels Records, Thom proves that she is still relevant and in great vocal shape. From the moment you hit play, the raw soulfulness of Thom’s voice on upbeat track “Help Me” makes it obvious it’s coming from the heart.

It’s not just the voice that tells you this but also the fact that Thom draws from personal experiences to create a record full to the brim with emotion by way of fierce and honest storytelling: “I’m leaving and scales of justice are even I still believe in, you own the air that I breathe in, I cried more you cried less, and I paid my debt in loneliness, so I owe you zero, I owe you zero.”

These lyrics accompanied by an acoustic guitar to begin with and later joined by an electric guitar, make “I Owe You Zero” a powerful performance.

Primarily a blues-country record, it’s layered with Motown influences as well as rock elements. “Stormy Weather” is all out rock and this mix of genres is definitely a style that suits her.

Those not familiar with Thom’s music prior to this will be as delighted as established fans.

CHECK OUT THIS TRACK: “The Big Ones Get Away” featuring Buffy Sainte-Marie — a superb duel for vocal attention with one of her idols.

More Bianca Roach.

Next Article

Related Stories

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • Lisa Montgomery embraces her nephew Thursday after a tornado tore apart her home in Cleburne, Texas. The twister killed six people and destroyed entire swaths of the North Texas town.
    Credit: AP/LM Otero

  • Jack McMahon, the defense attorney for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, speaks outside the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia Tuesday. His client was convicted of killing three babies in his clinic, and will serve multiple life sentences.
    Credit: AP/Matt Rourke

  • A photo taken Monday captures Vice President Joe Biden's response to a Milwaukee second-grader's innovative proposal to end America's epidemic of gun violence. This guy!
    Credit: AP/Jenny Aicher

  • Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., flanked by a grouper-eyed Michele Bachmann, addresses the IRS' admission that it targeted Tea Party groups in advance of the 2012 election. In an op-ed for CNN Thursday, the Kentucky senator slammed the president for his faux outrage.
    Credit: AP/Molly Riley

  • Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller is sworn in on Capitol Hill Friday. Miller testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the extra scrutiny the agency gave conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
    Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite

  • Attorney General Eric Holder pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Holder is under fire, among other things, for the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at the Associated Press.
    Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster

  • O.J. Simpson sits during an evidentiary hearing at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nev., Thursday. Simpson, who is currently serving a nine-to-33-year sentence in state prison for armed robbery and kidnapping, is using a writ of habeas corpus to seek a new trial.
    Credit: AP/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Jeff Scheid

  • Major Tom to ground control: On Sunday astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded the first music video from space, a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
    Credit: AP/NASA/Chris Hadfield

  • When it rains it pours. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference Thursday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inexplicably inspiring an #umbrellagate Twitter meme.
    Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin

  • A smoke plume rises high above a road block at the intersection of County A and Ross Road east of Solon Springs, Wis., Tuesday. No injuries were reported, but the the wildfire caused evacuations across northwestern Wisconsin.
    Credit: AP/The Duluth News-Tribune/Clint Austin

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

Comments

 0 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: So long, Sookie Stackhouse

Recommendations