Even Sky Motel s artwork was bright. Neon colors graced the cover while she sang of her superstitions and insecurities with that unforgettable wail, and it was as calm and graceful as Hersh has ever been- only slightly less disconcerting than her previous solo work. As much as I d like to see her happy, I don t think it would facilitate a fruitful solo career.
Musicians prove over and over that pain produces the best art.
Hersh s severe bangs and distant gaze on the cover of Sunny Border Blue bear and an uncanny resemblance to pictures of Sylvia Plath in the final year before her suicide. I ve always thought of Hersh as a modern day version of Plath, despite the physical likeness in the picture. Hersh s hyperbolic expressiveness recalls Plath s wild exaggerations in her poetry, but, where Plath lacked a proper outlet, Hersh has the benefit of immediate release through her music. As you ve invariably seen reported in anything ever written about Hersh, she s always claimed that her songs just come to her fully formed, often in the middle of the night, so that she has to hash them out on her guitar before she can go to sleep again. The sudden mood shifts and cathartic releases on Sunny Border Blue give credence to this claim as the songs often follow the illogical paths of dreams.