Paste Magazine

April 2003

With the first couple of songs on "Transient", it would be easy to peg Portland, Maine's The Coming Grass as yet another Americana outfit similar to The Jayhawks-more rootsy than alt-country, resplendent with that yearning, heartland, Neil Young-style twang.

But then they hit you with the wistful elegy "4th Child," and Sara Cox's captivating voice edges into Sandy Denny/June Tabor territory, followed by the sardonic, feedback-laden cruncher "Product Pushing" and the almost psychedelic "Walking Time Bomb Face"

What also sets this ensemble apart from the pack is their rather bittersweet and economical mixture of electric and acoustic guitars, qualities shared by the tandem vocals of Cox and Nate Schrock (think Johnny and June Carter Cash, Exene C. and John Doe). Fine stuff, this.