The cover of Sera Cahoone’s debut record says it all. It features the Seattle-based songstress, from the shoulder up, with her arm draped over the backseat of what is obviously some sort of classic pick-up truck. Actually, it is impossible to tell where she is, but that is the image that is immediately invoked. She’s wearing a Cowboy plaid shirt, unbuttoned at the sleeves.
The entire portrait is perfect. It invokes a laid-back, self-assured style that fits snuggly in the traditional idea of country-twanged folk while, at the same time, letting the listener know that this is a new, original singer/songwriter to reckon with. And the truck? Well, that is because this is an album for the road, pure and simple.
“Nowhere to be Found” and “Last Time” open the record with a driving, haunted tone. One gets the impression that Cahoone has spent many-a-night cruising through the dark forests of America’s Pacific Northwest, pursued by the very ghosts that appear in these songs.
Many of the tracks are written from an eerie purgatory-like perspective, one filled with waiting, longing, hoping and, of course, Cahoone’s rich, mournful voice. “Couch Song” shines the spotlight on her intense, quivering vocal cords in a song that could make a grease-covered mechanic fall to his knees.
The album ranges from straight, storytelling folk to the whining sounds of the peddle-steel in several classic country tracks, including the breathtaking waltz, “I’ve Been Wrong.” In the end, this is a record that belongs on the shelf of amateurs and connoisseurs alike. It is an example of stark, inspired songwriting and a gutsy, robust performance. With one stroke of her trusty Martin guitar, Cahoone has established herself as a musician to watch in the world of folk and beyond.
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