The Next Big Thing

I first heard Sara Hickman when her Shortstop album came out on Elektra. My buddy HT had a&r'd it and had Ms Angel Corpus Christi add some of her patented accordion chutzpah to the proceedings. It was a nice little album and not at all in keeping with yer average NBT hooch but you have to keep your radar open y'know. What really put Ms Hickman on the map for me was the version of "Everyone's Gone To The Moon" that she cut with Angelo Badalamenti. It swooped and soared and should've been a huge hit. I got the chance to ask Mr B. about it at the Edinburgh Film Festival and he obviously remembered the session with great fondness. So let's cut to the chase, Sara Hickman is a singer/songwriter of epic proportions. Her music continues to exist outside of what might be considered our remit here but its obvious quality is inherent in all of her work. It's very pretty and commercial but never wet or schmaltzy. She also does a line in children's music which I think has been more successful for her or late. She treats what could be homogenized to be twee with the same edge that she infuses her "adult" work. Its that recognition that sets her aside from yer average singing/songwriting hack, her personality comes through to provide that extra dimension that so much of the fare just doesn't have.

She's also put together a dvd of appearances from over the years and she's even appeared on Li'l Art's Poker Party. The part where she meets George Burns and asks about Gracie is genuinely moving. Perhaps her groundedness has prevented her from being as well known as she deserves to be. Like Amy Rigby.

So check her out but be reminded that this is the polar opposite from the fire-breathing, punk rockin' stuff that we regularly fill yer boots with.