“AXS” Review by William Phoenix

Susie Glaze & the Hilonesome Band to release ‘Not That Kind of Girl’

Original Article

Susie Glaze & the Hilonesome Band’s upcoming offering Not That Kind of Girl is reportedly more musically diverse than their earlier albums. The twelve-track disc is a musical mix of genres including Appalachian roots music, newgrass, folk, country, blues and more. It includes a healthy dose of original compositions and cover cuts.

Glaze, of course, leads the way on lead vocals. She is backed by songwriter Rob Carlson (lead guitar and vocals), Steve Rankin (mandolin, bouzouki and vocals), Mark Indictor (fiddle and vocals) .and Fred Sanders (bass and vocals).

The album opens on “Independence”. It’s an interesting instrumental but reveals little of the band’s true capabilities. It does give the boys a few minutes to show off before the lovely Glaze enters and steals the show though.

They move right into the titular track “Not That Kind Of Girl”. It’s an upbeat song that is highlighted by harmony vocals by Carlson and producer Herb Pedersen.

“Heartland” is the first number not written by Carlson. It’s a nice American ballad written by Denise Hagan. It’s followed by “Millionaire” which is an adaptation of David Olney’s compelling country composition. This one includes vocals by Rankin, Glaze and Sanders. While the subject itself, greed, is unsurprising the band owns the song.

Sanders steps to the front singing lead on the Henry Hipkens hit “That’s How I Learned To Sing The Blues”. It is quickly followed by “The Mountain” which Carlson has written to sund almost traditional. It’s a roots music song about mountain-top mining for coal featuring Pedersen on banjo.

“Don’t Resist Me” is one of the best songs here for those who enjoy darkly humorous song satires. It serves as a nice foil to the previous piece. The country ballad “This Old House” comes next with Carlson on lead vocals and Glaze singing harmony.

“Dens Of Yarrow” is an early favorite of the critics. It is a Scottish border ballad about love and death. It’s stripped down with Glaze sometimes singing a cappella. Skip Edwards makes it unique with his accordion.

“Prisoner In Disguise” is a noteworthy version of the J.D. Souther’s song made most famous by Linda Ronstadt. Chris Hillman guests on the mandolin and Pedersen fills it out on lead guitar and harmony vocals.

Things start to wind down with a cover of Ernest Troost’s love song “The Last To Leave” which Glaze makes her own. The album end-note is Carlson’s rhythm-filled finish “Never Give Up” which includes guest percussionist Joe Craven.

Watch for Susie Glaze & the Hilonesome Band’s new CD Not That Kind of Girl when it hits stores this June. You might be surprised to hear how Glaze pushes the band’s musical boundaries here. Sure, she could have stuck with material nearly identical to that on her three previous platters but, well, she’s just “Not That Kind of Girl”.