Karen Haglof - Western Holiday (Karen Haglof)

Delivering her first solo album after years away from music, former Band of Susans and Rhys Chatham guitarist, Karen Haglof, rediscovers her electric guitar with twelve songs heavily rooted in the blues.

Far from the abrasive avant rock that Haglof is known for, Western Holiday opens with a Led Zeppelin-ish title track, perfectly setting the tone as her smooth vocals float over crunchy blues riffs. It’s not straightforward blues, though; it’s blues rock, that louder hybrid with rock’s volume and heavy qualities. As the songs progress, Haglof explores the many moods of electric guitar Americana, from mystery (“Danger Point”) to introspection (“Don’t Straddle Fences”) and even a bit of Ramones in the final track, “Won’t Wake Up To You.” There is humor, too, perhaps best exemplified in “Musician’s Girlfriend Blues,” which looks at the male-dominated rock world from the position that behind every great man… It’s a celebration of rock’n‘roll, growing up and lost friends, particularly Haglof’s guitar mentor Jeff Hill and Let’s Active bassist Faye Hunter, who provides vocals to the driving “Lincoln Letters.”

For some reason, when musicians reemerge from obscurity, we unfairly want them to be that snapshot from the past without taking into account all the life experiences they have acquired over the years. Television’s Dr. House used to insist, “People don’t change,” and he’s right. This is the same Karen Haglof that made our ears bleed twenty-five years ago, just with a bit more insight into the way of the world.