Home > Austin Music Source > Archives > 2010 > May > 10 > Entry
CD Review: Sara Hickman `Absence of Blame’
Sara Hickman
`Absence of Blame’
(Self-released)
Grade B-
“Love Is There,” the soaring, uplifting first track off “Absence of Blame” from much-loved, perennial Austin singer-songwriter Sara Hickman, is something of a bait-and-switch. With its chorus of background vocalists, it has the vibe of a gospel number, as Hickman reassures us that love is there, ever-present even “in the broken places/in the empty spaces.”
But not all of “Absence Of Blame” is as straightforward. The slow, acoustic “Betrayal: Suitcase” is a little more ambiguous, and Hickman dives into infidelity and heartbreak on “Infidelity: Before You Change Your Mind,” the damage wrought by suicide in “Suicide: Blown Away,” and all manner of dysfunction and self-destruction on “Family Dynamics: Broken.” The sound is just as mercurial, from a Neil Young guitar riff on “Prison: Edentown” to the jazzy keys and R&B atmosphere of closer “Gratitude: I’m So Glad You Came Along.” It’s that adventurousness - both sonic and lyrical - that redeems “Absence Of Blame” when the album doesn’t quite hold together, whether on the heartfelt but overly subdued “Juliet and Juliet” or the too-standard “John Lennon: Last Of A Dying Breed.”
Sara Hickman performs at 5 pm. today at Waterloo Records (free; waterloorecords.com) and 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Cactus Cafe ($10; www.utexas.edu).
Follow Austin Music Source on Facebook and Twitter.
Permalink | | Categories: Reviews
