Although best known for fronting the quite aptly named Sid Hillman Quartet, this time out, Sid is travelling light and brings us Oxygen, a solo album, no less. He always said that most bands tagged with the alternative-country label seemed more country than alternative, whereas the quartet’s music was more alternative than country. This notion is equally applicable to the songs on this solo long player.
It is an album of many sonic moods, but it is to the understated and spacious that he turns for this first single. “Even Things” oozes melancholy grace, a brushed beat and a guitar with just the hint of country twang, a voice and little else, and it is almost easier to define it by what it isn’t than what it is.
It has the air of a lost, cowboy ballad, but it isn’t country. There are drifting bluesy vibes, especially lyrically, but this is a long way from what that label implies. It is balladic, but, unlike most of the songs in that realm, it feels authentic too. The closest reference I can find is some of the most minimal, drifting songs on Ryan Adams’ brilliant debut, _Heartbreaker _, where you found songs that often sat equidistant from all those tried and tested styles.
This is a gorgeous introduction to the album to follow, I can’t imagine there will be anyone who, having found themselves caught in “Even Things” magical and mellifluous embrace, won’t immediately want to know more about Sid Hillman.
