Lorna Hunt: Reviewed and Interviewed

Marcel Hearkens
OOR #3 of 7 Feb.2004
(translated from the Dutch, below)
"An Alternative" that's how she describes herself and that is an understatement. What do you expect if your second album is called "Sentimental Bedlam"?

To Lorna Hunt it is an audible pleasure to constantly put the listener on the wrong track. A lady of extremes. One moment you hear a sweet folkie, who is not conscience-stricken and doesn't hesitate to suddenly plunge you into auditory madness.

Acoustic and electric guitars, clarinet, bassoon, accordion, violin, harmonium and lots of indefinable organic sounds are used sparingly but effectively. With equal ease Lorna sings sweetly and girly-voiced, with razor sharp malice or like a mad embodiment of Rickie Lee Jones.

The fact that her image-rich texts sometimes refer to Greek mythology (Antigone, Priapus) has nothing to do with pompous pretence but can be seen as an example of her bizarre views on romance, love, death, sex and the human frame of mind in general. Siegmund Freud would spontaneously get a hard-on. Yours truly limits himself to laudatory words: Sentimental Bedlam is an intriguing work that doesn't let you off. She says it herself in the last chord of Wild Balloon: "You cannot lose me by letting me go." We make a note of that.

Marcel Hearkens
OOR #3 of 7 Feb.2004
'An alternative.' Zo omschrijft ze zichzelf en dat is dan nog een understatement. Kan ook niet anders als je tweede album Sentimental Bedlam heet. Lorna Hunt schept er een hoorbaar genoegen in om de luistereaar op het verkeerde been te zetten. Een dame van uitersten. Het ene moment hoor je een zoetige folkie, die er echter geen bezwaar in ziet om je meteen daarna onder te dompelen in auditieve waanzin. Akoestische en elektrische gitaren, klarinet, fagot, accordeon, viool, harmonium en allerlei onde finieerbare organische geluidjes; ze worden spaarzaam maar effectief ingezet. Lorna zingt even makkelijk liefkijk meisjesachtig, scheermesscherp venijnig en als een gestoorde incarnatie van Rickie Lee Jones. Dat haar beeldrijke teksten soms refereren aan de Griekse mythologie (Antigone, Priapus) heeft niks met gezwollen pretenties te maken, maar is eerder exemplarisch voor haar bizarre kijk op zaken als romantiek, liefde, dood, seks en de menselijke geestesgestelheid in het algemeen. Sigmund Freud zoe er spontaan een stijve van krijgen. Ondergetekende beperkt zich tot lovende woorden: Sentimental Bedlam is een intregerene plaat die je niet meer lo loslaat. Ze zegt het zelf in slotakkoord Wild Balloon: 'You cannot lose me by letting go.' Waarvan akete. MARCEL HAERKENS

Erwin Zjileman
Plato Mania # 186, Jan 4,2004
(translated from the Dutch, below)
Currently the number of female singer-songwriters is such that you need to come up with a very special CD to attract any attention. Lorna Hunt has understood this well because Sentimental Bedlam is such a special CD. A CD that should instantly capture any lover of female singer-songwriters.

Foremost because of Lorna Hunt's great voice, a voice that makes you think of both Sheryl Crow, Joni Mitchell and Suzanne Vega, but most of all of Jewel at her best. The quality of the songs is another reason to fall head over heels for Sentimental Bedlam. Lorna Hunt writes beautiful, but at the same time wilful songs that try to avoid the beaten track of folk-pop as much as possible and each go their own way. The arrangements are surprising, the singing passionate, the songs compelling. Just like e.g. Erin McKeown Lorna Hunt refuses to be labelled and in her case that leads to an intriguing CD that gets a little better each time you listen to it.

No doubt 2004 will yield many wonderful female singer-songwriter CDs but even now we can be certain that, at the end of the year, Lorna Hunt's will be classified as one of the very best.

Erwin Zjileman
Plato Mania # 186, Jan 4,2004

LORNA HUNT - Sentimental Bedlam Het aanbod van vrouwelijke singer-songwriters is op het moment zo groot dat je wel met een hele bijzondere cd moet komen om nog op te vallen. Lorna Hunt heeft dat goed begrepen, want Sentimental Bedlam is zo 'n bijzondere cd. Een cd waar iedere liefhebber van vrouwelijke singer-songwriters eigenlijk onmiddellijk verliefd op moet worden. Allereerst vanwege de geweldige stem van Lorna Hunt, een stem die afwisselend doet denken aan Sheryl Crow, Joni Mitchell, Suzanne Vega, maar vooral aan Jewel in haar beste dagen. Ook de kwaliteit van de songs is een reden om direct verliefd te worden op Sentimental Bedlam. Lorna Hunt schrijft mooie, maar tegelijkertijd ook eigenzinnige liedjes die de gebaande paden van de folk-pop zoveel mogelijk proberen te vermijden en elk hun eigen weg gaan. De arrangementen zijn verrassend, de zang gepassioneerd, de songs meeslepend. Net als bijvoorbeeld Erin McKeown weigert Lorna Hunt zich in een hokje te laten duwen en dat levert ook in het geval van Lorna Hunt een intrigerende cd op die bij iedere luisterbeurt weer net een stukje beter is. 2004 zal ons ongetwijfeld weer veel prachtige vrouwelijke singer-songwriters cd's op gaan leveren, maar dat Sentimental Bedlam van Lorna Hunt aan het eind van het jaar tot de betere behoort is nu al zeker.

Pandora/Ctrl.Alt.Country
(translated from the Dutch, below)
For ages she had been dreaming of recording an album with her great musical hero David Willey (Hamster Theatre). And with "Sentimental Bedlam" Lorna Hunt's dream actually came true. For a whole year she had to commute between her home town in Santa Barbara, CA and Willey's in Boulder, CO, but of course she was more than willing to do so.

The fruit of their cooperation is a somewhat alienating, slightly mysterious sounding album that comes across as a kind of fusion of progressive rock elements with an alto that tends towards the passionate. Now and then verging on a nice example like P. J. Harvey, then more melodious and thus resembling the calmer pieces by Bettie Serveert or the more experimental stuff by Suzanne Vega. Anyway, Lorna Hunt has a special performance voice that is certainly every bit as good as any of the above mentioned famous names. "Sentimental Bedlam" is an album that won't only appeal to readers of Country. Songs like the fragile "Mustard Fields" e.g. we would put on StuBru without hesitation. There is no lack of passion here.

Pandora/Ctrl.Alt.Country
Sinds jaar en dag droomde ze ervan een plaat in te blikken met haar grote muzikale held David Willey (Hamster Theater). En met "Sentimental Bedlam" ging voor Lorna Hunt die droom nu ook daadwerkelijk in vervulling. Een heel jaar lang moest ze ervoor heen en weer pendelen tussen haar eigen woonplaats in Santa Barbara, CA en die van Willey in Boulder, CO, maar dat had ze er natuurlijk graag voor over.

De vrucht van beider samenwerking is een enigszins bevreemdend, wat mysterieus aandoend album dat overkomt als een soort fusie van progressieve rockelementen met meer naar het passionele neigende alt. folk. Nu eens uitkomend in de buurt van een schoon voorbeeld als P.J. Harvey, dan weer melodieuzer en dan heeft het allemaal wel iets van het kalmere werk van Bettie Serveert of van de meer experimentele stuff van Suzanne Vega. Lorna Hunt heeft in elk geval een bijzonder performante stem, die in geen geval hoeft onder te doen voor die van de zo-even opgesomde bekendere namen. En "Sentimental Bedlam" is een album dat heus niet alleen aan Ctrl. Alt. Country-lezers besteed zal blijken. Zo'n nummer als het breekbare "Mustard Fields" bijvoorbeeld kan wat ons betreft zo op StuBru. Aan passie geen gebrek hier.

Maurice Dielemans
Kinda Muzik
(translated from the Dutch, below)
Five years ago Lorna Hunt made her debut with the CD "All in One Day". Recently "Sentimental Bedlam" was released in The Netherlands but this delayed successor to "All in One Day" officially dates from the first month of 2003.

Despite this and nevertheless Lorna Hunt appears to be fresh with her elegant and immaculately tended neo-folk.

At "Antigone", the opening track of "Sentimental Bedlam" , she immediately forces one to listen.

Due to her treacherously whispering voice and the minimalistic jazz melodies it is tempting to compare her to Joni Mitchell.

Hunt, who developed her singing technique with the aid of the acoustics of the village church, sooner makes us believe she is a cross between Sheryl Crow and Rickie Lee Jones, with all the advantages and disadvantages of that.

Lorna Hunt would be wise not to pretend to be a second or third rate Rickie Lee Jones, who herself had been unjustly scorned as a second rate Joni Mitchell. The fact that Hunt comes with a few slovenly rock songs on "Sentimental Bedlam", including "Priapus" and "Kiss Me Goodnight", doesn't strike us as the best strategy to shake off the image of the singing muse. "Wild Balloon", in which we get the impression Tom Waits is breathing down her neck, would be a better choice.

Maurice Dielemans
Kinda Muzik
Lorna Hunt maakte vijf jaar geleden haar debuut met de cd All in One Day. Onlangs kwam Sentimental Bedlam uit in Nederland, maar de verlate opvolger van All in One Day dateert officieel uit de eerste maand van 2003. Desondanks en niettemin maakt Lorna Hunt hierop een frisse indruk met haar elegante en tot in de nopjes verzorgde neo-folk.

Bij 'Antigone', de openingstrack van Sentimental Bedlam dwingt ze meteen tot luisteren. In de verraderlijke fluisterstem en minimalistische jazzmelodieën ligt de vergelijking met Joni Mitchell op de loer. Hunt, die haar stille zangtechniek ontplooide met behulp van de akoestiek in de dorpskerk, doet ons eerder nog geloven dat ze een kruising is tussen Sheryl Crow en Rickie Lee Jones, met alle voor- en nadelen van dien.

Lorna Hunt moet toch wel oppassen om zich niet voor te willen doen als een tweede- of derderangs Rickie Lee Jones, zij die ooit al ten onrechte was verketterd als een tweederangs Joni Mitchell. Dat Hunt op Sentimental Bedlam aan komt zetten met een paar slonzige rocksongs, waaronder 'Priapus' en 'Kiss Me Goodnight', lijkt ons niet helemaal de juiste tactiek om het imago van de zingende muze van je af te schudden. Dan is 'Wild Balloon', waarbij het lijkt alsof Tom Waits in haar nek hijgt, een betere optie. tekst: Maurice Dielemans

Philip Van Vleck
CMJ New Music Monthly Jan/Feb 2003
Anyone who writes a song about a character from a Sophocles play is asking for a serious listen. Lorna Hunt's tune "Antigone," the first track on Sentimental Bedlam, begins with a singsong guitar riff that eventually grows positively menacing; near the end of the tune, when Antigone's suicide triggers a horrible cascade of death, we can hear the insect-like buzzing of the Fates. The song is brilliant because Hunt thoroughly gets the weight of her source. "Antigone" is a giant clue to the depth of her talent, and the remaining 12 songs on the record confirm this vibe. There's nothing monochromatic about Hunt's world, either. She offers a genuine love song on "Shift (Beautiful)," complete with observation, "I never thought I'd want a man for the color of his blood." Indeed, romance figures prominently in several of Hunt's tunes. It may manifest itself primarily via a sort of perverse, shadowy lust, as on "Priapus" - here drawing on Roman mythology for inspiration - or via a simple gentle lyric, as with "Wild Balloon." Hunt's outstanding songwriting is matched by the fine arrangements she's devised with producer Dave Willey. Literate songwriting is the singer/songwriter's holy grail, and Hunt is definitely in the quest.

Kim Hooper, www.CampusCircle.net, Jan 2003
Sentimental Bedlam is Lorna Hunt's impressive follow-up to her award-winning 1998 debut, All In One Day. A hybrid of progressive rock and traditional folk, Hunt's musical efforts are decidedly experimental but never distracting or problematic, since her voice is so conventionally beautiful. Rhythmic and melodic in an offbeat way, each song is like a little knock on the doors of the soul. Her stories are personal, her messages universal. She plays with words and constructs images with the skill of a poet:
"Some walk along in their life machines / They keep them oiled they keep them clean / You are one walking dream" (from "Life Machine"). Pain and whimsy meld together seamlessly and because the band exhibits such range, no two songs sound the same. At times, Hunt sounds vaguely like Jewel, sometimes Alanis Morrisette, and occasionally Janis Joplin, but
the reminiscences are fleeting; she has her own unique style. Each track is a refreshing surprise, a reminder that there are artists who dare to make a song a risk, instead of producing an album according to one tried-and-true musical formula.
Grade: A

Philip Van Vleck
HeraldSun, Durham NC 12/27/2002
from Best of 2002....
Hunt’s a gifted and highly literate singer-songwriter. Her tune "Antigone" is one of the most interesting tracks I heard this year.

Bill Locey, Ventura County Star, 12/5/02
Lorna Hunt will make her debut at songwriter-friendly Zoey's in Ventura tonight Hunt is the latest talented singer-songwriter you've never heard of -- at least not yet -- to appear at this venue, and don't be surprised if she holds her own with some of those who preceded her, such as Kathleen Wilhoite and Eliza Gilkyson.

Imagine a wispy Alanis Morissette or Rickie Lee Jones with a few million fewer bucks in the bank but with an equally powerful voice and a bunch of good songs.

Between sets, Hunt will shamelessly try to sell a few copies of her outstanding second album, "Sentimental Bedlam." Obviously inspired by that big jerk ex-boyfriend, the new one follows 1998's "All In One Day."

Hunt came from a musical and footloose family and traveled widely, but these days is a Santa Barbarian with ties in Boulder. She has a day job, but her night job is clearly her job of choice, since she actually went to school and studied music.

The new album has a number of hot players to help out Hunt, who plays live as a low-budget artist -- just a girl and a guitar.

Just back from a number of gigs in Oregon, Hunt discussed the latest.

"Sentimental Bedlam" -- what a title. So where'd that come from, a bad boyfriend?

About three summers ago, I was just going through hell, probably the most hellish summer of my life, and those words just popped into my head and right then I knew that would be the name of my next record. It just stuck in there; you know how things just stick in there.

Who do people tell you that you sound like?

I used to hear Rickie Lee Jones a lot, but lately I don't get a lot of comparisons.

On the new album you have a hot band, so how do you recreate the sound as a girl and a guitar?

I guess it works, but it sounds really different. I play by myself and I really enjoy it; that's my favorite part of the whole music business: getting up onstage and playing.

You actually went to school for this?

I did. I have a BA in music from the Naropa Institute in Boulder, and I also went to Musician's Institute for a year in L.A. I've applied a little bit of what I've learned, especially from the first school, because there's a lot of rhythms and internalizing rhythms that happened there that I completely apply involuntarily.

When did you know you wanted to be a musician?

Everything in my life has been a complete accident. I was dating a guy that was in a band and we used to sit around his house and sing harmonies and I started going to shows and singing with his band, the Poison Squirrels. Then later on, my brother was going to Naropa getting his MA in creative writing and he asked me why I didn't go and I said, "OK." And I said, "So what would I study?" He said, "Music." And I said, "OK." I ended up playing more and more and taking things more seriously and I formed a band called Mary's Backbone. I've been writing songs for about 10 years now and I've been touring and playing the past four years.

What should an audience get from one of your shows?

Some kind of satisfied or inspired feeling, I hope. I dunno, it's hard to say -- but as if they've been through something.

How does the Santa Barbara scene work for you?

There are some opportunities, yeah, but it could be healthier. I think Santa Barbara's always trying to be more musically inclined. There's more going on here than there is in Boulder.

What's your musical mission?

This is not easy and glamorous. I have to decide whether or not I want to get this record on someone else's imprint or do something else with this record, but I think I'm gonna give it a shot independently for awhile. I like the spirit behind those endeavors and I also like the freedom creatively.

I made this record by myself, and I made all the decisions about everything, along with my co-producer. That way, I ended up with something I love rather than something I think is nice.

Record labels are like bank accounts; they bankroll your endeavor, but they're fickle, wayward and unreliable -- just like a bad boyfriend.

Joshua Brayer, Santa Barbara Independent, 11/14/02:
"...so beautifully, I felt she was singing to me alone. Her vocal tone begs the storytelling comparison (Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan). With one lyric, she reveals a little bit of herself, and with the next, enshrouds herself in mystery. Every time you think you get it, you realize you don't; yet it still means something very tangible-these are the things that make Lorna Hunt and her music so beautifully infectious. Get your hands on her brand-new CD, Sentimental Bedlam, as quickly as possible."

Barnes, Frontiers, 11/8/2002:
Those lucky enough to have caught the slyly humorous singer/songwriter Lorna Hunt live or on her debut, "All in One Day," will be shocked by the creative explosion on her new album, "Sentimental Bedlam." These 13 songs of "open-minded lies and the simple-minded truth" (to quote one track, "Mustard Fields") reveal an artist capable of the most engaging kind of whimsy that can switch to dark intensity with a dexterity that is truly breathtaking: The element of surprise is her secret weapon. Hunt's queerness - she's been quoted as saying she does "kings, queens and everything in between" - is somewhat reminiscent of the Canadian queen of quirk, Jane Siberry, albeit with a much bigger set of balls. A quick scan of the lyrics of "Kiss Me Goodnight" show just how playful she can be: "My mother was Elvis Presley / My Daddy was King Kong / My boyfriend was Jimmy Osmond / and is brother Donny, too / They used to drive by every night / in a big Cadillac / just to kiss me goodnight, That's what I used to want." "Priapus" and "Unrecoverable" contain a kind of life-affirming sensuality sung in her pure, emotive voice. But just as quickly, this quicksilver songwriter will enter a kinky realm, like on "Pervoception (Shift [Beautiful])": "You cut yourself shaving / It was pretty as a painting / I never thought I'd want a man / for the color of his blood." The musical landscapes, created in collaboration with producer Dave Willey are ambitious - a funky marriage between progressive rock 'n' roll and a kind of passionate folk music for the adventurous. Most exciting is Hunt's ability to explore larger musical forms throughout. Check the huge scope of the track "Mighty Town"; she loves using untraditional song structures and odd shifts in meter that somehow make perfect organic sense. Hunt has been quoted as saying she "only wants this music to find a home in the air." It seems, however, that "Sentimental Bedlam" is destined to bring this compelling and singular artist a whole host of new believers.

Johanna Randall Reed
Santa Barbara Independent, 11/7/2002:
Your first question about Lorna Hunt is probably "Who is she?" She expects this-at the end of her press release she includes the paragraph "Questions You May Still Have About Lorna: Does she like boys or girls? Has she undergone any decorative self-mutilation? Does she know the rules?" But it should be said, that no one will ever really know; those questions are not supposed to be answered. Whether it is because of her coy, downward glances during conversation (and performance), or the enigmatic stories that fuel her songs, Lorna Hunt is Santa Barbara's best-kept secret, even to her fans. With the release of her second album, Sentimental Bedlam this Saturday at Roy, we might hope that some of those questions may be answered. But after one listen to the record, her image and message remain as murky and magical as ever.
The first time I met Lorna Hunt was three years ago, at SOhO, playing songs from her debut album All in One Day. She wore her waist-length hair in two long braids down her back, held together with clothespins. She played introspective folk songs with a lovely, feminine voice. But something about her-maybe it was the patch of hair shaved by her neck, or her penchant to entrance the audience with something never before seen in folkies-suggested a deeper, darker performer lurking within.
Now, sitting in the electric blue dining room of her Mission Canyon home, a spiky halo of bleached-blonde hair framing her face, black boots up to her knees, and her second album sitting between us, it is clear: Lorna Hunt has excavated the most shadowy places of her soul and emerged with an ambitious, genre- and gender-bending identity. But who that is exactly-folk-feminist, drag-king, coy lesbian, showy introvert, hetero-sex goddess, pixie, witch, siren-is not entirely clear.
"I can't stand to be something in particular," she said, speaking about the stereotype of female singer/songwriters. "I do resist the image of girls with guitars, but that is fundamentally what I am. I play guitar, I sing, I write songs, and yes, sometimes they're sappy. When I first started out, I had long hair, and more feminine ways. I think I used it as a crutch, a mode: cute-girl mode. But two-and-a-half years ago there was a shift. Life was hell here in paradise; and the words 'sentimental bedlam' came out. I knew that was the title of the next record."
To begin recording what would be a journey through the wilderness of herself (and the backcountry of Colorado at times), Hunt enlisted Dave Willey (of Colorado band Hamster Theatre) as a co-producer. Hunt would drive 900 miles to cut a few tracks of just her voice and her guitar, and Willey would then experiment with different musical instruments and finish the songs. Half the record was done this way. The rest of the songs were begun and produced by Hunt on her own four-track recorder.
The songs unfolded in their own time: "There was no one picture of the record," she said. "It was each song for its own sake. I'll be playing guitar and some words will come out. When things spontaneously feel good together, tears come out of my eyes. Often times, I don't know what the song is about until much, much later. But the emotion comes first."
When asked about her penchant for piecing together bits of lyrics that make no logical sense (for instance, "Saturnine I wait for the spark / easy for you / but not so easy for me / bored stiff / unrecoverable"), she said, "I feel sick to my stomach if I have a straight narrative. When I piece it together, if it feels good, it doesn't matter if it makes any logical sense."
The recording process took a little over one year. The result is music not only outside, but completely unaware, of the usual boundaries. Sprinkling songs with bassoon, clarinet, organ, and patty-cake, Willey and Hunt came up with a record that is both playful and dark. Hunt's tender voice leaps up at points, then lulls into girlish whispers. There is rock-star sass next to vulnerable heartbreak.
At one point, Hunt said, "Dave had a misunderstanding that I was trying to make a hit record. I said, 'Let me remind you that we're doing whatever we want. No one has to like it. It only matters that we like it.'" That noted, Hunt says of her new release: "It's exactly what I wanted."
And now that her record is finally in her hands (after a lengthy comedy of errors with the artwork and manufacturing that pushed back the release nearly a year-and-a-half), Hunt is ready to conquer the world. Or is she? When asked if she wants to become a star, she frowned and said, "I think I should probably decide about that. I can't see beyond a couple of days. I'm tortured by tons of past, but the future means nothing." She laughs. The few things set in stone are: "Play some gigs, plant some flowers."
Bedlam will be welcomed into being with eight CD release parties up and down the West Coast. "Playing is my favorite thing. It's not a performance, but a mutual engagement. I love being engaged one on one, and that's what playing is. I get shaky talking about it. It's like trying to describe someone you love. There are no words."

I'M NOT TELLING: During the course of our four-hour interview-in which we consumed three cups of tea, two brownies, and one pomegranate-her life story unfolded, only to provoke more questions. Her stories swung between funny happenings (the wild turkey perched on the telephone pole outside the window), interesting factoids (Anaïs Nin supposedly had sex in the room directly above where we were sitting), and delving into childhood (which she tackles on the song "Kiss Me Goodnight"). Born in Manhattan, high schooled in Hong Kong, and graduated with a BA in music at Naropa University, how exactly she came out West was answered only barely. "I had a friend read my Tarot cards," to decide if Boston, Los Angeles, or Colorado was the best for establishing a career in music. The fortune: Colorado would provide a modest musical following and a placid life; in Boston, music would eventually fade away. But out here in Southern California: "Life would be hell, music would flourish, and I would find my true love," Hunt said.
"So," this smitten interviewer asked, "is life hell, is music flourishing, and have you found your true love?"
Hunt raised one end of her mouth, bringing her lips into what could be a smirk, a smile, or a look of puzzlement. I sat on the edge of my seat awaiting her response, like it was the password to a secret, magical paradise. Will she finally let me in?
"Well," Hunt said slowly, "I'm going to answer 'yes' to one of those questions . . . " pause, "but I'm not going to say which one."
Ah, divine mystery.

Johanna anonymoS
Santa Barbara Independent, 9/5/2002:
I'VE BEEN LORNA HUNTED:
Speaking of the world of album releases, one of S.B.'s own has been making some sound ripples to reckon with. Lorna Hunt is the best-kept secret, the next best thing, and the artist to save your life. For those of you who know not of Miss Hunt, let me inform you that your life, until this point, has been meaningless and mundane. This songwriting siren is poised to throw the pop-song structure into a blender, take the folkie image outside and beat it with a stick, and turn all our worlds upside down with her newest release, Sentimental Bedlam.

Her eager fans have been waiting for months for its release, merely teased with the preview EP Wingless. From what I've heard, it sounds like Hunt has perfected the art of the "masterpiece album," piecing together oboe-tinged love songs from the wildest reaches of (human) nature, confessions of death and sex, references to "the pumpkin head of your desire," and brilliant lyrics such as "You cut yourself shaving/I never thought I'd want a man/For the color of his blood."

Miss Hunt and her recording achievements do not deserve the pun "she'll folk you up." No, they should be honored with a full-fledged, "She'll mess, shatter, swoon, tickle, tease, pund and f*** you up good."

Rose Polenzani - 7/2002:
"'Sentimental Bedlam' is a brilliant, quixotic album. Lorna Hunt's vocabulary fetish leaves me breathless; Where does she get those words? Dave Willey, producer, takes a highly ambitous set of songs and laces them expertly. From the ancient myth of Antigone to a prairie love song (Mustard Fields) to a pop-culture fantasy world (Kiss me Goodnight), her floutish, lonesome, courageous voice drives this sometimes Zappa-like album to inimitable effect."

Sheila Nicholls - 7/2002:
"Lorna, kinetic, visceral, layered, pregnant, spicy and enigmatic. The production of this album meticulously weaves a sonic collage holding a voice that vacillates between warm, elliptic and luscious textures to beetle and cricket flicks on washboards. This sister has my attention."

Libby Kirkpatrick - 7/2002:
"On Lorna - this is someone whom I am so proud to say is my contemporary - she is truly brilliant and unique in her performance and style - I believe she is responsible for setting national trends in color and sound - she is really a treasure and I hope you go the extra mile to get what she gives; it is so worth it."

DJ Palladino, Santa Barbara Independent - 6/2001:
"When she connects with the world, song or textured image -- it's a kind of genius noticing."

Tara de Lis, University Reporter - 1998:
"She is a consummate live performer, exuding both warmth and humor, immediately connecting to her audience, then slowly transforming herself into a seething demon."

Crosstracks WCUW 91.3fm - 1998:
"A landscape of reflective words, dreamy vocals and haunting melodies."