"You don't get to tell me how to feel,"
River Shook tells us in no uncertain terms in the second song on 2024's
Revelations, the fourth LP from
Sarah Shook & the Disarmers, and if one phrase can sum up the tone of the album (and
Shook's work in general), that will do just fine.
Shook has been fearlessly honest in their songs about life as a single mother, their struggles with drugs and alcohol, and coming out as genderqueer (which even in the relatively enlightened alt-country community is a bold step for a roots music artist), and on
Revelations,
Shook touches on their mental health issues with the same clarity and matter-of-fact honesty. They write songs about living a hard life, but it's from the perspective of someone who grew up in a time and place where lots of folks were dealing with their own struggles, and there's never a drop of self-pity in their songs, which makes their lyrics, written with the skill of an artist and the blunt frankness of someone sharing at a 12-step meeting, all the more effective. If
Shook's vocals aren't always pretty, they know how to communicate their stories to others with the ring of truth, like a blend of
Loretta Lynn and
Chrissie Hynde after a pack of smokes.
Shook produced
Revelations, with
Ian Schreier engineering, and the audio fits the music -- it's straightforward and well-detailed without any necessary fuss, and the latest lineup of
the Disarmers --
Blake Tallent on guitar,
Andrew Lambie on bass,
Nick Larimore on pedal steel, and
Jack Foster on drums -- is among the strongest yet, with the keen emotions of country and the tough report of a solid roots rock band working side by side. There aren't a lot of people like
River Shook in alt-country -- or any other genre, for that matter -- and they make their talent, honesty, and bravery into something powerful and moving on
Revelations. If this isn't
Shook's best album to date, it's very close. ~ Mark Deming
