Prepare for some high-octane, retro-rock healing! More than living up to the acclaim for her as “a cross between Liz Phair and Buddy Holly,” Oregon-based singer-songwriter Sallie Ford fashions a heartfelt yet rollicking confessional on her personal yet universal journey through anxiety, insecurity and depression. Despite the urgent nature of her distinctively howling vocals and often blazing, crunching guitar work, she’s not a blues artist per se but a contemporary rocker steeped in everything from doo wop to British invasion traditions. Still, like the best blues musicians, she makes her rich musings on pain somehow uplifting and inspiring.
Score: 7 out of 10
Sallie Ford
Soul Sick
Vanguard Records
Producer: Mike Coykendall
