Sara Hickman

Absence of Blame (Sleeveless)

Although pegged by most as a folkie, Sara Hickman is an unrepentant pop artist. Absence of Blame finds her enjoying nearly every stripe of that rainbow with a zeal she hasn’t displayed since 1998’s Adrian Belew-produced Two Kinds of Laughter for Shanachie Records. The local song activist opens with slinky South Austin gospel “Love Is There,” reboots Phil Ochs’ “There but for Fortune” with a defiant swagger, and even borrows some of Neil Young’s grunge on the harrowing “Edentown.” There are missteps; “The One” drones so close to the bone that you can hear the tears. Beneath it all is an artist exposing herself to pain, her own and that of others, in order to cleanse herself of anguish. Themes of suicide, betrayal, and misunderstanding might not sound incredibly uplifting, but here they’re presented with sentiment so deep and vocal prowess so strong that the listener is forced to be drawn to it.

***.5

This article appears in August 13 • 2010.

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