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Sarah Morris Ordinary Things Review by Gary Hill The blend of sounds on here is quite cool. There are things here from folk music to country to blues to jazz and more. Some of it is quite retro and some much more modern. This never feels tired or redundant. It’s not the most original thing you’ll hear, but it’s definitely entertaining. This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2016 Volume 1 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Track by Track Review

Brighter This acoustic guitar based song is a lot of fun. It’s very folk oriented. It’s intricate and also energized. There is a lot of country music built into it, too. Both the instrumental and vocal arrangements are classy.

No Memory There is a lot more blues rock built into this thing. The organ on the cut brings a great retro texture. This is still very much country music, but the flavor is a lot different than that on the opener.

Sway Me Much more of a modern rock song, this still has a lot of country music in it. I love the slide guitar. The whole piece just works in such a classy way, though.

Nice Girl Now this is a big (and quite cool) change. It comes in with an almost psychedelic rock bit. From there it moves to some killer retro blues rock. The vocals still bring some country to the table (so dothe fast paced jam and the bluegrass breakdown). Beyond that, though, this is more of a 1960s/1970s blues rock song. It’s incredibly classy. In fact, it’s my favorite here. It’s worth the price of admission by itself.

You Still Have Me A slow moving bluesy cut, I love the retro organ sound here. The horn brings some jazz to the mix. When you really listen to the drums here, they are also quite jazz like. This shows another side of this artist. It’s also another great piece of music.

Lie Here Tonight A bluesy country rocker, this is high energy and a lot of fun. The slide guitar adds a lot.

The Strong One We’re brought back into folky country territory at the start of this. It has a lot of bluegrass in the mix. It’s another powerhouse cut and gets more powered up later.

Used To Be Mine With a lot of energized modern country at its heart, this is fun. It at times reminds me a bit of the Indigo Girls somehow, too.

Careful, Careful Modern country and pop rock merge on this energetic cut. It’s another cool tune.

Hope, Sweet Hope The mix of sounds is similar to that of the last piece. Still, there’s perhaps a bit more traditional country music here. However you slice it, this is another effective cut.

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