The fact that there is a six-year gap between
No Fools, No Fun -- the 2014 debut from
Sasha Dobson,
Catherine Popper, and
Norah Jones -- and its 2020 sequel,
Sister, indicates that
Puss N Boots is not a full-time proposition for any member of the trio. Casualness turns out to be the group's strength, a notion
Sister puts in sharp perspective. Like
No Fools, No Fun,
Sister ambles along to a ramshackle beat -- a sound designed to fill out an after-hours club or perhaps a living room. The tempo never rushes, the volume never blares, giving the album a sense of intimacy, as if the listener is eavesdropping upon a shared secret. Sometimes
Sister's songs do play a bit like a hushed whisper, but
Puss N Boots isn't some precious affair. The trio are as likely to crack a bawdy joke as they are to commiserate about a broken heart, and if they find a tune they like, they'll cover it. This time around, they cut versions of deep cuts by
Tom Petty ("Angel Dream"),
Paul Westerberg ("It's a Wonderful Lie"), and
Dolly Parton ("The Grass Is Blue"), adding a shambling, attention-grabbing version of
Concrete Blonde's "Joey" for good measure. That's a lot of covers, but not as many as there were on
No Fools, No Fun, and the preponderance of originals -- including three written by the whole band -- helps emphasize their endearing, peculiar chemistry. It's not just that
Puss N Boots is a roots band whose roots are so tangled, it's hard to separate the rock from the country or the cabaret, it's that they can make quiet music seem like a low-key party. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine