Pained and beautiful, Sykes chokes out almost every word in a determined whisper. It's just unbelievably touching; you can hear the grainy scratches in her tear-stained words. And she happens to be one of those musical artists that literally DEMAND you listen to their lyrics. Country guitar melodies interspersed with piano, horn, and harmonica accompaniments provide a rich, flowing vehicle, but her poetry is the most integral component to her aesthetic.  Full text...

Like Trace, Being There, and Heartbreaker before it, Like, Love, Lust & The Open Halls of the Soul is the result of its creators ramping up their game, taking on a variety of styles to deliver, in the end, their singular artistic declaration to hopefully stick around for a long, long time.  Full text...

This record touches a nerve and there is a haunting beauty to the production of this release that whisks through the air when this record is played loud. Like all good records, this record should be played loud.  Full text...

Despite the quirky vocals (interestingly enough, Sykes guested on last year's collaboration between weirdo metal bands Sunn 0))) and Boris), much of Like, Love, Lust & The Open Halls Of The Soul is old school.  Full text...