Blame Sally combines lush electric and acoustic instrumental textures with sensuous harmonies and intriguing original compositions
Dirty Linen – January/February 2010 by Mike Parrish
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Blame Sally deserves credit for landing incredible record deal
Boston Herald – by Daniel Gewertz
Blame Sally broke the mold.
In a music scene where youth still rules even as record company budgets shrink, this California quartet of middle-aged female rockers landed a five-year, three-album contract worth half-a-million bucks.
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Band can only Blame Sally for Success
San Francisco Chronicle – by Reyhan Harmanci
Bay Area band Blame Sally may have just inked a six-figure, five-year, three-album deal with Berkeley label Bay Area Opus Music Ventures, but it is not your typical band-on-the-verge-of-success story.
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Blame Sally celebrates release of new CD
San Francisco Examiner – by Michael McGuire
Climbing out of Billboard charts to find out what is not going on in New York, Los Angeles, Nashville or London is a pleasant experience. One of the best bands I’ve run across in recent years is a San Francisco-based quartet who has played music together in a variety of forms and venues since the early 1990s, finally coalescing into the band “Blame Sally” in 2000.
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Blame Sally Brings Light to the Darker Days of Our Recent Past
San Diego Troubador – by Terry Rowland
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Killing us softly ~ More subtle than strident, Blame Sally’s intriguing songs still pack a punch
Colorado Springs Independent – Bill Forman
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The Graham Weekly Album Review – George Graham
All-female bands are still something of a novelty in music. The Dixie Chicks are certainly well-known, though they are supplemented by several guys on stage. There are the Indigo Girls, though as a folk duo, I don’t know if they qualify as a “band.” One has to go back to the Bangles to find a popular band of all women. This week, we have another excellent example, Blame Sally, whose new CD is called Night of 1000 Stars.
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Fiddlefreak Folk Music Blog
by Stuart Mason
For all my fellow Fiddlefreakers who dig the pop-rock side of the folkie spectrum: sally forth and get your hands on the new record from Blame Sally. These four velvet-vocaled ladies from San Francisco have somehow laid claim to the modern pop-folk sound while yet sounding fresh and inventive.
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San Francisco Chronicle Sunday Datebook
Dallas has its Dixie Chicks, and San Francisco has Blame Sally, the difference being, among other things, that the Blame Sally women are less country and less flashy. What the two groups share are great singing, sharp, versatile musicality and a raft of anger at the current U.S. executive branch. Check out Blame Sally’s powerful video “If You Tell a Lie”, then attend the group’s CD release party tonight and dance.
Palo Alto Daily News:
Wondrous vocals, sweeping melodies on new release
BLAME SALLY, “SEVERLAND”
An amazing collection of talented local musicians has banded together and released a stunning new CD. “Severland,” the latest from San Francisco’s Blame Sally, should bring this female foursome universal acclaim. Individually, Renee Harcourt, Monica Pasqual, Jeri Jones and Pam Delgado have long displayed stirring singer-songwriter gifts. Together they’re a powerhouse unit, presenting outstanding lead vocals and harmonies. “Severland” carves out a strong identity on the indie-pop edges of Americana. Among the highlights (though there’s not a weak track among the dozen here) are the riveting title tune, the piano-driven “Fillmore Street,” the haunting “Devil to Pay” and the country-rocker “Trouble.”
Paul Freeman
All Music Guide
Severland is the quartet’s strongest and most cohesive album…To put it in Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young terms, Severland is their Déjà Vu.That’s actually not a bad starting point musically, either: acoustic guitars, piano, and creamy close harmonies predominate, with occasional hints of banjo and lap steel…Stewart Mason, All Music Guide
Marin Independent Journal
“…Blame Sally has suddenly burst out of the pack as a Bay Area phenomenon, selling out shows, winning over new fans, enjoying tremendous response to their third CD, “Severland,” a collections of “eclectic folk pop” songs that are personal, playful and political….” Paul Liberatore, Marin IJ
Performing Songwriter
“The band’s four-part harmonies should not be missed. Don’t blame us if you’re the last on your block to check out Blame Sally.” Mare Wakefield ~ Performaing Songwriter
Downloads.com
Editor’s Highlight:
Beautiful harmonies, intricate instrumental work, smart lyrics, and gently energized rhythms mark the songs of this San Francisco-based folk-pop quartet. The four women in the band are each veteran musicians and songwriters in their own right, and together they create soulful, complex, finely crafted music.
San Francisco Magazine
The fans who made ladies-only quartet Blame Sally a KFOG favorite (and highlight of the station’s new local-bands-only CD) must be loving the band’s eponymous studio album. Harmonizing femme-folk integrity with pop playfulness isn’t as easy as they make it sound; this is sweet, charming stuff. -Jonathan Kiefer
Bitch Magazine
by Heather Seggel
Without a major or even indie label to promote and distribute their self-released debut album, this quartet of Bay Area women has had to rely on more grassroots techniques. When one local DJ started spinning occasional tracks from their CD on his show, the switchboards lit up with curious, captivated listeners. And no wonder-these Chicas know what they’re doing. Monica Pasqual, Pam Delgado, Jeri Jones and Rene Harcourt trade lead vocals and instruments as well as writing duties, and every song benefits from their collaboration. Little accents find their way in—like the flourish of cantina-style trumpets in the opener, “Birds Fly South” – and give a sense of locale and mood to their creations.
Especially cool are the harmonized choruses, many of which feature striking lyrics. On “My Shame”, they sing, “Give it here/ I’m feeling it, tasting it, drinking it/ I want to swim in it, live in it, dive into it/ Then give it up.” On paper, that’s a clever lyric, but in the context of the song, it jumps right out and charms the ear. In “Dead Horse”, a weird backward sounding guitar loop emphasizes the sneaky chorus: “I hope one day I can say I’m okay, that I’m out of the red and stop banging my head/ I hope one day you can learn how to say that you feel some remorse and I’ll stop beating a dead horse.” Sharp, funny and sandwiched into a funky little tune.
Folktastic Femmes
New Times – by Glen Starkey
Even though Blame Sally hails from San Francisco, I still like to claim them as our own. After all, two members—Pam Delgado and Jeri Jones—used to live and play here in SLO County.
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Get Your Girl On
Very much in the realm of “women’s music”, Blame Sally is a fine debut that seems to be making converts wherever it’s played. The attention is deserved – this disc is a winner.
Blame Sally opened their CD release concert with something a little bit different: “Vera Chiesa” features the addition of an Indian singer Shweta Jhaveri, a droning harmonium, eastern-influenced vocal harmonies, and the haunting slinking of quarter and half tones.
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