For well over a decade Idaho native Eilen Jewell has charmed the pants off her loyal fans as ”one of America’s most intriguing, creative and idiosyncratic voices”. Well that’s what they say anyway. I’m new to Jewell and her eighth studio album Gypsy is my introduction to her country-folks blues leanings. So while I will need to spend a little more time listening to her music, I have to say I already really taken by what I’ve heard so far on Gypsy. From the personal to political, Jewell covers an array of territory as a songwriter; and its kind of cool that she concludes the album with a gorgeous little stripped-back acoustic track called Fear, where she tells us to seize the day and not fear be our guide. Incidentally, that peculiarity in her vocals everyone keeps going on about is pretty much spot on. It comes across as comforting like a welcomed old friend you haven’t heard from for a while. It’s almost like she stepped out of country music’s golden age and into our modern world. Musical standouts include Crawl, 79 Cents, Beat The Drum and Witness.
0 comments on “On my stereo this week: ‘Crawl’ by Eilen Jewell.”