Those familiar with
Kurt Swinghammer's other works know that he's not satisfied to deliver what's expected, and the same holds for
Black Eyed Sue, his mostly acoustic song cycle about a long-passed relationship. While the album contains the usual bits of nostalgia and regret, it also focuses a lot on circumstantial detail: a statue here, streetcar there, and other seeming minutiae like the signature on the bottom of the inspection notice inside the elevator -- it's amazing what comes back to you when the memories start to flow. Despite this, it's not insubstantial, with a lot of meat in the material as well. There are touching bits, sensual bits, and utterly wrenching bits, but all lightened by a great sense of humor. It's a side of
Swinghammer that a lot of people might not have expected, but it's certainly welcome, and ends up as his strongest work yet. ~ Sean Carruthers