The wry, thoughtful songs on
Sarah Dougher's solo debut address friends and lovers in various degrees of geographical and emotional dislocation. Her guitar- and piano-based sound and unadorned alto are reminiscent of early
Liz Phair, but
Dougher is a more explicitly political songwriter. So where "Moving" takes a lover to task for refusing to build a life in one place, and "40 Hours" celebrates its narrator's own pleasure in running away, "Everywhere West" debunks the romantic mythology of female pioneers in the old West. Occasionally
Dougher's politics outshine her craft: "The Day Bella Abzug Died" is a rousing feminist campfire song, but seems thin and didactic compared to her subtler work. In addition to its eleven originals,
Day One features a languid cover of the Eagles' "Take It to the Limit" which blends surprisingly well with
Dougher's own songs.