What's Up! Magazine

Coty Hogue hits it out of the park with her new full length album To the West. This album offers up a slice of Americana with introspective songs of renewal and hope performed flawlessly by Hogue.

The vocal performance shines with Hogue’s fabulous voice grabbing the listener and inviting them into the Appalachia feelings of nature and nostalgia. Coty brings it home early in the record with the haunting “Dear Mother.” The song evokes the feelings and hardships of family, farms, and money. I also loved the a Capella “Shiloh’s Hill/Battle of Shiloh Hill.” The song made me feel as if I were involved in a Civil War era march with my unit after a bloody battle. Part gospel, part country, the number really hits hard. Coty shows the ability to write words that are reflective of a time in the past, but they also have a fresh, current feel that keeps interest. This is evident in the awesome, “Undone in Sorrow,” a country tear jerker that pretty much does what the title says it will.

My favorite track on the record though is the Patsy Cline like “Sugar Moon.” Hogue just sounds downright hot when she sings this song. The group behind Coty really does a fine job of setting the mood for this one. Overall, the band does it right through the whole record. I like Coty Hogue a lot. She has a great amount of talent.

Cello Room Productions
myspace.com/cotyhoguemusic