Reviews/Press

Sid Hillman: he comes from Los Angeles, is the nephew of the legendary Chris Hillman from The Byrds (and also The Flying Burrito Brothers and The Desert Rose Band) and years ago he once sent me a package containing the untitled debut from his band, The Sid Hillman Quartet. But Sid Hillman does not try to recreate the psychedelic country rock and the safe bluegrass music of his rich uncle.

Although there is usually no living to be made from autumnal, gloomy manmade music – just ask Robert Fisher from Willard Conspiracy – he nonetheless seems to have found his niche with the new release from The Sid Hillman Quartet, called simply Tercero. The record is produced by the folks at Trocadero, who are getting the new year off to a start straight away with a number of strong releases including fantastic records from Kelly Pardekooper, Eleni Mandell and Angel Dean %26 Sue Garner.

Tercero from The Sid Hillman Quartet is also recommended, and this time we are not served up easy-listening pop songs. There is therefore little point in discussing the numbers one by one. It must also be said that it is only after having listened to this several times over that the melancholy singing of Sid Hillman and the unilateral tracks on the dark Tercero make room for solemn country noir. But let’s be honest: true growth records like Tercero are often also the best and achieve the most.

Maurice Dielemans
Kinda Muzik

“Debut album from LA based band the Sid Hillman Quartet.  After performing solo and acoustic for many years, Sid decides to form the Quartet to fully realise these songs.  What we get here is a largely melancholy collection but strangely uplifting and there are moments of real beauty to be found.  From the opening track ‘Hope’, it’s clear that Sid is a very talented lyricist and two verses in, you’re hanging on his every word. A great song and you wonder if they can sustain the quality over the whole album. Fortunately they have eight other songs just as good as the first. ‘Songs that bend the rules’ says the bio and they’re most certainly that. Just when you think you know where each one is heading, they take you in another direction entirely, it still catches you out even on repeated listening. Yes, they can rock when necessary but these guys don’t rock out, they rock in. PB” — Americana UK

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“Every cowboy has a sad song, but there’s something unique and stunning about the Sid Hillman Quartet. Most of the time the beautifully depressed vocals are moving the intense music in opposing directions, but, then again, it all seems to flow down into the same river of melancholy and tight musicianship. This is a terrific album, filled with icy atmospheres, spare use of melody, and unusual, claustrophobic song structures: “The way you sang those words/Even though they weren’t yours/But they fell off your lips/And landed sadly on the ground.” (‘Lingering’) This is also that kind of late-Saturday night music that comes very slowly but grows on you quickly. However, listeners are rewarded ultimately for their patience. As far as influential styles, the Sid Hillman Quartet easily fit into the same camp as Willard Grant Conspiracy, the Kingsbury Manx, and Lullaby For The Working Class. Needless to say, this album is not something for the dancefloor. The Sid Hillman Quartet have just completed their second full-length record, due for release later this year, featuring guest players Jaydee Maness (Byrds, Beck, Desert Rose Band) on pedal steel and Matt Devine (Possum Dixon, Medicine) on baritone guitar. This full-length debut album includes nine excellent songs and was independently released in July 1999 on compact disc and vinyl.” — Maurice Dielemans, Kinda Music

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“Add Sid Hillman to the list of artist about whom the term ‘alt-country’ tells only half the story. Thanks to the raw emotion presented in his mixture of country, rock and straight-up singer song writer folk, the Los Angeles tunesmith taps into deep, deep roots that transcend the genre. ‘If I Com To You’ employs the whine of a pedal steel, which pulls you into such longing, desperate lines as ‘This is so the look of you might save me.’ Other emotional dilemmas and interpersonal conflicts rear their heads throughout the record’s nine songs, but you’ll never struggle with the fact that you’re listening to the emergence of a very promising talent.” — Steve Ciabattoni, CMJ New Music Report

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“Frontman Sid is the nephew of Byrd Chris Hillman. There are slight similarities, but not enough to make you feel like a dumbass for not making the connection. Both have a distinctly American sound at their core but the L.A.-base Sid Hillman Quartet is not only more rural than pop, but also darker and looser than ‘most its y’alternative brethren.” — Michael Bertin, The Austin Daily Chronicle

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“Hillman & company’s three-song demo puts forth a commanding vibe right away with ‘No Perfect World,’ exemplifying the band’s compelling alt.-country brew. Our favorite is ‘I’ll Wait,’ which has a Stonesy, Faraway Eyesî feel, but with lyrics that really stick to your heart thanks to excellent pedal steel. The slow pace of the tune is not easy to pull off, but these players are up to the challenge. Hillman, nephew of the Byrds’ Chris Hillman, has already received acclaim and will earn plenty more if he continues to add dynamics to this project.” — Music Connection Demo Critiques