Severland

Album Review

On again, off again folk-pop quartet Blame Sally consists of four solo singer/songwriters who occasionally work together, kind of like a AAA-radio, coffee house-friendly version of the Justice League of America. Severland is the quartet's strongest and most cohesive album, the first on which they sound more like a proper band than four solo artists working collectively. To put it in Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young terms, Severland is their Déjà Vu. That's actually not a bad starting point musically, either: acoustic guitars, piano, and creamy close harmonies predominate, with occasional hints of banjo and lap steel fleshing out the politely folk-rock arrangements. There's a similar sense of political connection here as well, both on the title track and the pointed "If You Tell a Lie," but most of the tunes here are quiet reveries like Monica Pasqual's haunting "Fillmore Street" and her "Devil to Pay," powered by a hypnotic cyclical piano part. However, the album's highlight is a cover of "A Thousand Tiny Pieces," a lovely tune by the obscure Bay Area singer/songwriter Sean Hayes that's unfortunately superior to any of the members' own songwriting efforts.