As a multi-talented singer/songwriter, the highly intelligent
Sarah Dougher has been into music for awhile; she grew up playing guitar and later she played rock organ in folk-rock bands such as Cadallaca, The Lookers, and the Crabs. Following up her 1998 solo debut
Day One,
Dougher has returned with a solid, self-exploring sophomore release called
The Walls Ablaze. The dozen-track mold is a heavy illustration of emotional poetic clamor, songs ranging from topics of loss to frustrations of the unknown.
Dougher's melodic vocals can be linked to
Bettie Serveert's Carol van Dijk, and
the Spinanes' Rebecca Gates, and instrumentation echoes like early
Lene Lovich cuts. Guitarist, and
Dougher's longtime friend, Jon Reuter has joined musical forces, but expands his musical talent on keyboards and bass. Songs like "No-Handed" and "The Ground Below" sweetly hark at self-determination, but the spooling grooves on "What She'd Trade" is
Dougher's finest moment. ~ MacKenzie Wilson