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"Sarah June is an American artist who released the debut-album "This Is My Letter To The World" some 2 years ago now. Her new album was myintroduction to the very particular sound universe of this female musician. "In Black Robes" became a surprsing listening and one I'll definitely not forget! The songs are full of delicacy leaded by the unique and childish voice of Sarah June. She has a very particular way of singing. It sounds a bit childish, full of innocense, quite fragile and definitely dreamy. Musical wise Sarah June mainly plays acoustic guitar composing ballads full of reverie. The songs are nicely passing by, like taking the listener by the hand for a walk throughout the garden of Alice in Wonderland. "Crossbones In Your Eyes", "From My Window High" and "The Reaper" are exceptional pieces covering the opening part of this album. It might sound quite surreal, but her way of singing sometimes reminds me to Jim Morrison. It's not about the timbre of voice (of course), but more in the way she sings and accentuates some parts of the lyrics. "Brand Of Bitterness" appearing somewhere in the midst of the cd is the absolute high light. We here get some more instruments like drums and bass guitar joining in. The music sounds like a minimal version of Vaya Con Dios and is a brilliant interpretation. "Motown" coming at the end is another great cut. Sarah June he more plays with her voices showing wider vocal capacities. A very last song I've to mention is a cover version of "Sally Goes Round The Roses". The Sarah June album will bring some diversity to the Silber Records roaster while it's without a shaodw of a doubt my favorite release on this label for so far! A great piece of music"
~side-line.com


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Second record from this Detroit bred/San Francisco based artist who records her "goth folk" tunes in her apartment (she not only sings but plays all of the instruments as well). June has a distinctive voice, reminiscent of Alison Shaw of the Cranes and at times, Lisa Germano. Most of the songs are June and her acoustic guitar but with such sparse arrangements the music is full of rich, moody sounds. On opener "Cowboy" a stuttering acoustic guitar spins intricate webs while June's voice grazes over the top while "Judgment Day" casts a bit of an eerie glow over the proceedings mainly due to June's haunting vocals and the gorgeous guitar playing on "From My Window High" again is dark and moody but more hopeful thanks to the heartfelt lyrics. Elsewhere, "Grand or Bitterness" has a jazzy/beatnik vibe to it while "Paper Lantern" is pure folk. At times the record can be a bit samey but that's nothing a full band can't change. You've done the solo thing Sarah, now go on the hunt for other talented musicians like yourself and bring on record number three. Standout Tracks: "Cowboy", "Crossbones in Your Eyes", "From My Window High", "Paper Lantern"
~Tim Hinley - BLURT

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"This is one pleasantly surprising CD to come out of the normally experimental/industrial/agitpop music to come from Silber Media, but for some reason, Sarah June made it on to the Silber label and is hence, ready and waiting for your attention. Listening to it is pure bliss. It's pretty much an almost "pizzicato" sound to it, a lot of finger picking with strong fingers, as well as just good picking all over; that and Sarah June singing in that sing-song, little girl pitch of hers, which is so beautiful sounding as well as damn cute it just canÕt be ignored. I think that the clean, crisp acoustic guitar complements the perfectly pitched but precious and brittle voice, that of Sarah June. The music is an ominous, darkly mirrored silhouette after silhouette of the coming of something. What is what the listener must find out for themselves, by personalizing it the listener can make it their own in that way. Some stand-outs include: "Judgment Day", "The Reaper" and the haunting, echoing "Brand of Bitterness", one that features some fine work on the stand-up bass-fiddle and "Motown" Š her "love letter" to Detroit, MI. One other cut which really shows off some more of that great acoustic guitar work is the penultimate song, "Fencepost". The final cut, "'Til You Hit the Pavement" is one of the first times in years that IÕve seen the abbreviation for the word "until" written correctly, as 'TIL not TILL, which is a noun, meaning a drawer, as in a cash drawer in a cash register. ItÕs also a lovely, reflective song filled, not with anger or sadness but more of a "que sera sera" kind of attitude." ~Keith Manthie - Reviewer Mag

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"Sarah June is an American musician that will certainly leave an impression on you. It is not easy nowadays, with the tones of new albums released every month, to find something fresh or shocking in music bussiness, but certainly her sophomore album In Black Robes, it is something surprising the first thing you hear it.Just with an acoustic guitar and her voice, Sarah is able to create a kind of oniric musical experience. She sounds like a mischiveous teenager about to whisper a dirty secret to the microphone, but at the same time the lyrics can be really dark and deep. Goth folk? Certainly the style is not easy to catalogue, and that makes this album even more interesting.Maybe the best parts of the album is when the rhythm turns to be more bluesy, as a perfect example you can listen to the sixth track Bluesy Melody, where June`s vocal skills just shine or in Fencepost. Some other highlights of the album are the introductory Cowboy or the tenderly beautiful Paper Lantern, my favorite of the whole album." ~freemagazine

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"Sarah June's sophomore album "In Black Robes", is a breathy, soul-plucking follow-up to her 2008 debut entitledŹThis is My Letter to the World. We're going to go whole hog and just say it: we love this album. No objections there. Our only objection is the idea that in one way or another this is considered to be a "goth" album. Perhaps it's us, but the closest thing to goth imagery we're seeing is June herself in press shots: all of which is fitting of who she is, but not necessarily a reflection of her musical genre. Quite thankfully, her goth-ness is not quite the selling point as Avril Lavigne's "punk-ness", but we digress.We're actually getting more of a subdued ethereal rock with folk/Americana undertones and a bleary-eyed view of life. Sure, we are haunted by ghosts present, past, and future, brought to light by June's signature harmonies in an at times otherwordly key. But all this does not a solely-goth album make. June's style is much more than that, and whether or not she knows it, she owns it. Of course, while that's a major reason why we like her, it's the way she paints emotion-centered visuals with her words that gets us, from constructive observations to back-burner realizations.And now that we think about it, her voice lands somewhere between Talking Tina and Marilyn Monroe. It tickles and weirds us out in a good way. The themes and performance encompassing the overall execution of In Black Robes makes us wonder what kind of inspiration would be necessary for, say, a third album. Take it as a challenge, Sarah June. In Black Robes is available on Silber Records."~Beat Cave
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"A little gothic-tinged Americana folk with pretty unique vocals. Unique as in Joanna Newsom-unique."~ Matt Buga, KUCI

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"It's amazing what someone can do with just an acoustic guitar and a beautiful voice. Case in point, this super great disc released by Silber Records out of Raleigh, NC. Ms. Sarah June's vocals do sound somewhat like Alison Shaw from the Cranes, but this is definitely an original release with a lot of the songs lyrics being based upon death and loss. Great artwork to boot! For fans of Joanna Newsom, PJ Harvey and Jarboe.~ David Carter, Pins & Cathedral Bells

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"Innocence and experience are not mutually exclusive in Sarah June's "Letter", a beauty from somedarkholler.com. Her voice is as delicate as spun sugar and she employs luminous, space-filling echoes around both vocals and acoustic guitar, but in her songs there is still a detectable texture of urbane grit. Hers is an open wisdom, wiped clean of bitterness but simply honest, unshaken by fear of neither loneliness nor intimacy; this album will wear well. The album closes with a cover of "When Doves Cry" that replaces the sweat of the original with a slower heat and subtler perfume." ~ Gothic Beauty Magazine - Issue 28

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"Raised in Detroit and now living in San Francisco, Sarah June is an acclaimed singer-songwriter whose new album is a lovely, intimate, poetic meditation. Her wistful, imagistic lyrics show the influence of Emily Dickinson and Sylvia Plath, and the simple acoustic backing is perfect for a quiet afternoon alone. She also reinterprets Prince's "When Doves Cry" and Elvis' "I Can't Help Falling In Love with You" to stunning effect." "...She has one of those haunting voices. The album actually reminds me of The Cranes or maybe Mazzy Star. The Cranes were a sort of gothy dream pop band in the 90s. I fell in love with them as well. The music was dark but the vocalist had this angelic childlike voice. Sarah June has this same thing going on, so let me rename the genre dark dream pop folk. I have only had the album in my possession for 2 days now but I have already listened to it a bunch of times." ~Amoeba Music

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"Just recently Sarah June released her debut on Timothy Renner's label Hand/Eye on which the artist, who was born in Detroit and now lives in San Francisco, sings slightly melancholic songs with a voice that is girl-like (or fairytale-like?) in the truest sense of the word Š most of the time only accompanied by her guitar. The album "This Is My Letter To The World", which was basically recorded in her bedroom, seems to be a record for an autumn that is haunted by strange creatures." ~Black Magazine (blackmagazin.com)

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"Dark gothy folk from the great city of San Francisco. This girl has a very unique beautiful voice that will make you cry. I Love this record!" ~ Brad - Amoeba, Hollywood

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"Sarah June This Is My Letter to the World (Hand/Eye) This is just wonderful. A dozen darkly dreamy nocturnal lullabies by this girlishly sweet-voiced and slightly eerie singer/songwriter with a knack for reaching deep into the mystic. Fragile, brilliant, eccentric and entrancing. A little Twin Peaks around the edges with a slightly Joanna Newsom-like sort of magical faerie fey aura hovering somewhere between Rose McDowall and Julee Cruise on the edge of a vast dark abyss. Includes utterly gorgeous covers of I Can't Help Falling In Love and Prince's When Dove's Cry in addition to her ten great original compositions, all of which would ideal for sleepwalking to any night of the week." ~Dream Magazine

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"Perfectly sparse and lonesome, these songs come from the edges of dreamland"~Hand·Eye Records

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"The music took me by surprise as it was nothing like other bands/artists that had contacted me, but I was also enchanted by the fragile and dreamy sound. Her songs are bleak, heartbreaking & lonely sounding, as if she is a sad ghost girl desperate for love. Her vocals are like those of a little girl; it is haunting but I cannot seem to stop listening."~ Soul Drift Music

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"Sounds like: a Victorian tea party in an abandoned attic"~Odpeacock.com

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"The music in itself it is rather simple in its making, an acoustic guitar and the female voice with rather minimal keyboard accompaniments that adds a dreamlike atmosphere, surreal and mysterious while the power of the music captivates the listener not by force but by some sort of strange seduction and gentle invitation. The work centres the compositions in the delicate flow of the voice, which is utterly feminine in sonority, like the kind of singing a fairy could do while in loneliness and melancholy. The guitar serves as the transport for the singing and settles quietly and gently in the whispering cadence of the voice, strolling smoothly and delicately and pronounced only by some minimal keyboards arrangements that spontaneously appear."~Heathen Harvest

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