Crooked

"Hersh's eighth solo album finds her in the muscular mode as seen on 2007's Learn to Sing Like a Star and 1999's Sky Motel, rather than her more tender acoustic guise. Although many of the songs may be familiar to fans from the CASH Music project that ran throughout 2008 (Hersh gave herself a month to write and record a fully produced new song), within the context of the album the songs take on a new light. Once standalone entities, they are each now forming sentences of a complete and complex paragraph . . . Hersh plays all the instruments on Crooked, which is of course dominated by her skilful guitar work. Several tracks are underpinned by driving, pulsing, hypnotic guitar rhythms that she ornaments with beguiling lead. Recorded without a click track, Hersh's drumming was added to the guitars and vocal, giving the songs a rough-around-the-edges feel that is glossed but not disguised by the at times heavy-handed production. The effect is kind of unsettling, like a piece of furniture held together by paint, but Hersh's independent spirit and respect for her fans goes a long way to ensure that Crooked is another intriguing release." - Peter Hayward / WearsTheTrousers.com