What They're Saying About Blue Dirt Girl:
Read more of the Round Magazine review here.“The oddly named-Song of the Crawdad mixes ethereal steel guitar and analog electronics to create one of the most distinctive sounds, half blues but with a dash of Pink Floyd.”
Jason Blalock~ Round Magazine Review.Found By Round section 06.21.23.
“The band is in control of their craft. Singer, Kathryn Sutherland, is a stunningly lovely singer and songwriter. Along with fabulous bass player Albert and a new addition, a sax player, who was so intuitive with her playing!”
Mona and Eric ~ Howl at the Moon show attendees. (06.11.22)
“I cannot put my finger on which era the singles on your new album No Street Signs No Straight Lines come from. The 70's, 80's sometimes 90's. Your sound is timeless.”
audience feedbackNo Street Signs No Straight Lines live concert August 2023.
“Sunset Daddy is a journey. A philosophical conversation between the guitar and bass. The vocals are an amazing ride through dusty photographs and memories.”
Kele Fleming ~ Vancouver Island based singer/songwirter.
read more Charles Connolly review“Sunset Daddy is a somewhat 60's-style blues number having a remarkably relaxed pace, yet with an insistent rimshot on the quarter note to propel us through the syncopated bass plucks. Like Stevie Wonder has taken Jim Morrison’s place in The Doors. Then we take an unexpected turn into a more psychedelic 60s, akin to Jefferson Airplane, Marianne Faithfull and maybe even The Velvet Underground. Tremolo guitar chords, reverb on the saintly vocal, and a tiptoeing bassline awash with ride cymbal. That is the song. These two sections, taking turns. Nothing more. It needs no more.”
Charles Connolly- Connolly's Corner Reviews|musician|artistReview of SUNSET DADDY off "Nothing is as it was" EP released 03.18.21
“5 Miles Out '' got stuck in my head,...The last song to do that to me was from a couple or three years ago, maybe more. "5 Miles Out" feels like it's smarter older sister.”
Michael TurnerCanadian musician and author Hard Core Logo (1993)
“Sophisticated sound that is a mix of punk, pop and sensuous jazz. Kathryn Sutherland has an extraordinary voice, passionate yet smooth. An accomplished ensemble.”
Stephanie B. ~ Howl at the Moon show attendees. (06.11.22)
“Your music is like a painting. The bass is the outline and the vocals and guitar are the colours filling in the image.”
audience feedbackNo Street Signs No Straight Lines live concert July 2023.
“Your songs are positive in a time of such deep negativity. You sing about ordinary things that are so important: kids, walks, the land, friends, family.”
audience feedbackNo Street Signs No Straight Lines live concert June 2023.
“This is not music that references influences. It breathes a sophisticated rare air. The songs channel reggae/dub, modern soul, a dash of 70’s guitar magic.”
Dennis Mills - musician/bloggerfollow Dennis's blogs on substack.
Read more of Dennis Mill's review
Smells Like Rainbow Sounds Like Velvet
Synthesia is where, information meant to stimulate one of your senses, (for example hearing music) involuntarily stimulates another sense (like visuals or smell)
What would a synesthete see with blue dirt girl?
Would they smell rainbows?
Would they hear dreams?
blue dirt girl is Kathryn Sutherland, Albert Klassen and Jason Overy.
There is a magic with a three piece band, where every part depends on the others. It is a delicate relationship to maintain, and like a souffle, can collapse easily, but also like a souffle, it is a mouthful of perfection.
A song may start in one groove, and then it suddenly shifts down a gear. Don’t worry- blue dirt girl are excellent drivers and this car is a handmade beauty. The changes are not abrupt, but seamless. No buttons lost, no zippers snagged.
Kathryn Sutherland’s lyrics are open to interpretation, not linear, they are not easy rhymes. They conjure a mood, inventing new colours, with a masterful brush stroke.
Albert Klassen is a most amazing bassist, perfectly partnered with his rhythmic counterpart Jason Overy. I find myself mesmerized by the grooves, not knowing exactly where it is going, but trusting, putting my faith in their capable hands.
The songs channel reggae/dub, modern soul, a dash of 70’s guitar magic. Something about the feel reminds me of Traffic, Joan Armatrading, and an unnamed, distant memory of the 80’s that as hard as I try, I still can’t remember.
This is not music that references influences. It breathes a sophisticated rare air.
The songs:
Blood: Skeletal guitar, a dub reggae beat, “Everything changed”, and the bass begins a pattern that pulls us forward, “in a moment of anxious clarity”, lying here on the edge of the knife, Kathryn the cool, poet soul, commands us shred your tongue, and everything slows, reverses, is there anything between us, the skeletal guitar and propulsive bass intoxicate.
the conversation going on here, as we put our masks back on, and climb back aboard the knife. Steady Jake, it’s only blood that connects us here. Family has their own languages. Their own rules.
But the river flows into the title track….I Don’t Mind.
There is a great little change, where even words become inadequate. Dat, dat, dah. Oh my God, my mind pushes itself to remember, but what?
And the beat goes on… Sunset Daddy.
A new time signature, another conversation, the steady beat reasserts itself. We hear a familiar recollection of a towel that threatened to fall as her father goes up the stairs. You better stop….The intimacy of the recollection furthers the connectiion.
But wait, is there only one more song?
We want more. The music creates the feeling of a child swinging, up, down, always returning to “warm safe hands.”
Cherry blossoms rain from the sky….life goes up and life goes down
or it just spins around, but we always return to warm safe hands.
You listen many times and discover new connections. This music satisfies needs you were not aware of before. It is relaxed meditations on love, relationships, age.
This new blue dirt girl is mysterious.
You don’t know where she is going.
We are told to beware of strangers, so we will just have to get to know blue dirt girl better.
The road beckons.
It smells like rainbow.
It sounds like velvet.
“"I love Sunset Daddy. One groove with the drums- the bass line is pretty dope too. There is a funk feel to it. Love the sound of the rim shots. There is a real groove to Sunset Daddy. I hope we can do something together musically soon."”
Michael Jacobs. Singer/Songwriter based in France.
“The latest four song EP from this Vancouver singer is a much funkier affair than 2016’s Crazy Beautiful. Elements of classic seventies New York proto punk find their way into the angular grooves of Sunset Daddy and the sinewy bass lines in BLOOD.”
Stuart Derdeyn's - Vancouver SunJune 2021 - review of EP "Nothing is as it was"
Read more of Stuart Derdeyn's review
According to the band bio some — at times — explosive quality in the songs comes courtesy of 17 year-old guitarist Max Evans. Mentored by the Blue Dirt Girl trio, the young player lays down some really sharp licks on all the songs, with I Don’t Mind a particular standout.
“"I love Sunset Daddy. One groove with the drums- the bass line is pretty dope too. There is a funk feel to it. Love the sound of the rim shots. There is a real groove to Sunset Daddy. I hope we can do something together musically soon."”
Michael Jacobs. Singer/Songwriter based in France.
“STIR VANCOUVER'S, Gail Johnson, chose Blue Dirt Girl’s single DREAMS for May 2021's STIR PLAYLIST PICK.
STIR - Vancouver digital magazineputs Vancouver, and surrounding area, Arts and Culture at centre stage.
Dreams is the final track, of four, on “Nothing is as it was” EP.”
“I listened to your EP, a nice variety of sounds, vibes and ambiances...I was listening to Shed a Tear, it reminded me of the good years of the Young Marble Giants and Week-End-1978 to 1983 through the lens of Alison Stattons voice and songs.”
Marc Fournier- CBC host/World music DJEP review & Crazy Beautiful (2016) lead track review
“The art, the music, the website...just WOW!”
Kathryn Cliche - Calgary ABblue dirt girl fan
“I am listening to your new EP. Love your voice and different sounds in each song.
L.J. - Vancouver based writer/bloggerEP review & Crazy Beautiful (2016) lead track review
I also had to click on your single, Crazy Beautiful (title track 2016 album), I think this could be the song we all should have available to us to hear when we need it.”
“This EP is genius, pure genius!”
Josh Klassen - musician/artist/video creatorCommissioned to create 4 Reaction Painting time lapse videos for EP
“Singer/songwriter Kathryn Sutherland, bassist/vocalist/mandolinist Albert Klassen and drummer/percussionist Jason Overy are all seasoned musicians clearly at home in any number of genres...the band goes from the funky shuffle of the opening tune Shed A Tear to the near-perfect AAA pop such as Hey or the closing track Desire with obvious chemistry. Sutherland has a fluid delivery with a particular talent for shifting gear and range from verse to verse effortlessly...”
Stuart Derdeyn - Vancouver Sun Music ReviewerReview of Crazy Beautiful album 2016
Read more of Stuart Derdeyn's review
Singer/songwriter Kathryn Sutherland, bassist/vocalist/mandolinist Albert Klassen and drummer/percussionist Jason Overy are all seasoned musicians clearly at home in any number of genres. On the 14 tracks produced and recorded by ace keyboardist Simon Kendall and mastered by David Jewer, the band goes from the funky shuffle of the opening tune Shed A Tear to the near-perfect AAA pop such as Hey or the closing track Desire with obvious chemistry. Sutherland has a fluid delivery with a particular talent for shifting gear and range from verse to verse effortlessly. The copious life performance videos on YouTube present her material in everything from full band studio sets to backporch strum-alongs and it’s clear she’s right at home anywhere.
“This EP is genius, pure genius!”
Josh Klassen - musician/artist/video creatorCommissioned to create 4 Reaction Painting time lapse videos for EP
“Singer/songwriter Kathryn Sutherland, bassist/vocalist/mandolinist Albert Klassen and drummer/percussionist Jason Overy are all seasoned musicians clearly at home in any number of genres...the band goes from the funky shuffle of the opening tune Shed A Tear to the near-perfect AAA pop such as Hey or the closing track Desire with obvious chemistry. Sutherland has a fluid delivery with a particular talent for shifting gear and range from verse to verse effortlessly...”
Stuart Derdeyn - Vancouver Sun Music ReviewerReview of Crazy Beautiful album 2016
Read more of Stuart Derdeyn's review
Singer/songwriter Kathryn Sutherland, bassist/vocalist/mandolinist Albert Klassen and drummer/percussionist Jason Overy are all seasoned musicians clearly at home in any number of genres. On the 14 tracks produced and recorded by ace keyboardist Simon Kendall and mastered by David Jewer, the band goes from the funky shuffle of the opening tune Shed A Tear to the near-perfect AAA pop such as Hey or the closing track Desire with obvious chemistry. Sutherland has a fluid delivery with a particular talent for shifting gear and range from verse to verse effortlessly. The copious life performance videos on YouTube present her material in everything from full band studio sets to backporch strum-alongs and it’s clear she’s right at home anywhere.
“Singer/songwriter Kathryn Sutherland, bassist/vocalist/mandolinist Albert Klassen and drummer/percussionist Jason Overy are all seasoned musicians clearly at home in any number of genres...the band goes from the funky shuffle of the opening tune Shed A Tear to the near-perfect AAA pop such as Hey or the closing track Desire with obvious chemistry. Sutherland has a fluid delivery with a particular talent for shifting gear and range from verse to verse effortlessly...”
Stuart Derdeyn - Vancouver Sun Music ReviewerReview of Crazy Beautiful album 2016
Read more of Stuart Derdeyn's review
Singer/songwriter Kathryn Sutherland, bassist/vocalist/mandolinist Albert Klassen and drummer/percussionist Jason Overy are all seasoned musicians clearly at home in any number of genres. On the 14 tracks produced and recorded by ace keyboardist Simon Kendall and mastered by David Jewer, the band goes from the funky shuffle of the opening tune Shed A Tear to the near-perfect AAA pop such as Hey or the closing track Desire with obvious chemistry. Sutherland has a fluid delivery with a particular talent for shifting gear and range from verse to verse effortlessly. The copious life performance videos on YouTube present her material in everything from full band studio sets to backporch strum-alongs and it’s clear she’s right at home anywhere.