Oh Susanna – MOJO

Oh Susanna
Mojo – July 2003-07-01
**** (4 stars)

It’s been six years since Oh Susanna’s first, self-titled record – a self-funded EP released as Suzie Ungerleider – established her as a new name on the Canadian folk club circuit. Acclaim for the former librarian has been wide-reaching since, thanks to tours in the UK and US and two full-length CDs: 1999′s “Johnstown”, a stark, haunting, folk-Americana concept album, and 2001′s “Sleepy Little Sailor”, its fleshed-out, almost rock band follow-up. if the real Oh Susanna falls somwhere between those two poles, then the eponymous title suits this new record with its mix of fragile and full-on numbers. At times she still sounds like the missing link between Dolly Parton and Sinead O’Connor (high, pure Carrie Lee, spare, intimate Billy), but overall she sounds solid country, a real contender. -Sylvie Simmons