Sidelong
Sidelong finds Sarah Shook & the Disarmers making country music with a rough voice and little interest in hiding its flaws. The songs deal with drinking, damaged relationships and promises that are easier to make than keep. Their appeal comes from the band's lively playing and Shook's willingness to sound unsettled, impatient or thoroughly defeated when the writing calls for it.
Keep the Home Fires Burnin' starts with a firm sense of movement. The guitar melody gives the song a clear entrance, while the performance turns its request for a lover's return into something restless. The Nail adds more attitude, establishing early that these familiar country sounds can carry an abrasive edge without losing their tune.
The title track is a stronger emotional centre. Shook's voice bends and breaks around the melody, with the rougher transitions giving the loneliness more force. The lap steel and the band's careful support keep the setting spacious. Its fading ending suits the unresolved feeling rather than making a large final gesture.
Elsewhere, the faster percussion of Make It Up to Mama brings a useful lift, with a lower vocal delivery adding a darker colour. Nothin' Feels Right but Doin' Wrong finds another lively shuffle for a less comfortable account of bad habits. The contrast matters: the songs can be easy to move with while the people inside them remain far from getting their lives together.
The record is not equally strong throughout. Misery Without Company and Solitary Confinement feel less fully developed than the best material, and the singing is most effective when its unusual character sounds unforced. A more carefully chosen approach in a few passages would make the emotional directness more consistent.
Even so, Sidelong has a clear identity. The Disarmers give the writing a firm country foundation, with enough bite to support its darker humour and frustration. Shook does not need to turn the narrators into heroes or make their mistakes attractive. The songs offer a more useful kind of company: rough, tuneful performances that leave room for regret without giving up their energy.
