Oh Susanna

Tuesday , May 15, 2001
12:00 am
Location: Elderly Instruments
in-store performance (free)

Toronto-based singer/songwriter Oh Susanna (born Suzie Ungerleider) has garnered tremendous critical acclaim and built a substantial fan base on both sides of the border, initially for the harrowing ballads that comprise her 1997 self-titled debut EP and its 1999 follow-up, "Johnstown" (both Canada- only release). Her new Catamount release --and U.S. debut-- "Sleepy Little Sailor" is, in her own words, "more intimate and feminine, more stream of consciousness than reportage, centered on a theme of hopes and dreams." Born in Northampton Mass. and raised in Vancouver B.C., Oh Susanna grew up in a family obsessed with music. She performed as Oh Susanna for the first time in 1995 at the Railway Club in Vancouver. She began touring extensively following the release of a 7-song EP in 1997, often appearing at folk festivals with Kinnie Starr and Veda Hille as The Scrappy Bitches. Her breakthrough 1999 album "Johnstown" was produced by Peter Moore, known for his work with the Cowboy Junkies. On her 2001 release "Sleepy Little Sailor," Oh Susanna shifts away from grim tales of life in the Old West and doomed industrial towns to explore some inner landscapes, often haunted and obsessive territory, but shot through with intimacy, warmth and hope. Recorded with a host of all-star Canadian players and produced by Colin Cripps, "Sleepy Little Sailor" has set Oh Susanna on a course for international success. "SLEEPY LITTLE SAILOR" press clips: "An amalgam of the twisted phrasing of Richard Buckner, the gloomy cast of Gillian Welch and the sweet bluesy ache of Lucinda Williams; she's as much at home belting out torchy twang as she is soul-crooning.... Gray and gorgeous, with a myriad of hidden memories rolling in off the fog and a life-altering storm brewing on the horizon." (Ochs, Rolling Stone.com) "(Her) bittersweet compositions evoke a haunted, mythical America while uncovering enduring truths. (The album) judiciously adds modernist instrumental touches that flatter her understated yet soulful voice... and she's equally persuasive when defiantly belting honky-tonk. Grade: A-" (Schinder, Entertainment Weekly) "(Her) voice captures the beauty of bloodstains on snow-packed earth; the songs she writes recall the violent, snowblind terrain of 'Fargo.' A distinctive collection that in its tough beauty represents some of the finest folk-rock recordings of the past few years." (Hull, Sonic Net.com) "There's the echo of the North Carolina mountains in her voice, but you can also hear Sarah McLachlan. You can also hear someone with nothing to prove: No one else would have the nerve to take up Otis Redding's 'I've Got Dreams to Remember' and then sing from inside the song as Redding did not; (she) puts you on the street as she sees her lover with someone else, letting you feel his tongue in her mouth." (Greil Marcus' "Real Life Rock Top 10," Salon .com)

Check out recordings we carry featuring Oh Susanna