
VMag (Northampton MA), November 2000
"Absolutely
rockin’ debut from the Valley’s own SuperKart. With Sue Burkhart on vocals
and guitar, Adrianne Fielding on vocals, ubiquitous superhuman J.J. O’Connell
on drums (is there a band J.J. isn’t in?) and Cloudcuckooland recording
engineer Jim Weeks on bass, SuperKart could end up the next Valley super group.
Though clearly grounded in Indie, SuperKart isn’t afraid to add some dynamic
flavors that separate them out from the multitudes. Solid rock, great vocals,
wicked slide work, top rhythm section, and a great sound quality give this
self-release a launching ground that is surprisingly far beyond where they
probably should be. It’s debuts like she doesn’t have to know
that make the Valley music scene stand out from the rest of the country. Beware
o’ half-ass musicians that would do so well elsewhere. This is another level
altogether.
"Burkhart’s guitar work and
Fielding’s vocals belie the typical industry notions around women rockers and
label demographic crap. This band has power, quality, and rock to spare. “Deja
vu,” “Crackers,” and “Tell Me” open up the disc with a ton of energy.
A blend of four on the floor, country, and barroom come together here superbly.
“Dirty Rocks” combines a bit of the Stones with some jazzier elements and
really showcases Fielding’s prowess on the mic. Burkhart’s guitar work on
“All or Nothing” makes the heavy slide tune leap off the CD for me.
Definitely too bad that it got buried in deep cut territory, but song selection
and placement is hard to do when you’re deciding between strong tracks and
stronger tracks. No losers here. After this, the tempo comes down a bit and we
fall into some thicker blues-rock with “Soul Groan” and some sweet
country-bluegrass-blues with “Dyer Road.” “Rhubarb Pie” brings the
energy level back to the fore and continues impressing with more of Burkhart’s
slide work and some nice choices on vocal filters for Fielding. In an
interesting choice “Mama,” “Blowpop,” “Crave,” and the disc’s
closer, “Tricky,” clock in at the end as the most radio-friendly tracks on she
doesn’t have to know. Often radio-friendly translates as S-U-C-K, but
thankfully not here, and their placement on the CD gives an idea about where
this band’s heads are at. They obviously have their collective minds
right."
- Duke Aaron
Il Duce
Critics’ Comments about Sue Burkhart:
“…superbly cool and committed performances…
Burkhart’s is music of easy grace and quirky wit… she writes with
imagination and panache for her instrument.”
- The Union News, Springfield, MA
“Guitarist Sue Burkhart delights and thrills…”
- The Valley Advocate, Northampton, MA
“Wailin’… [she] sets the strings of her guitar
ablaze…”
- The Hartford (CT) Advocate