Jennah Barry, Holiday (March 2020) – ALBUM REVIEW #13
From the presse release: “On the south shore of Nova Scotia, in a house she helped build, Jennah Barry wrote, arranged, and recorded the songs that comprise Holiday (via Forward Music Group). Holiday follows her first album, Young Men (listen here). Jennah collaborated with Colin Nealis, her “greatest musical partner”—and partner in life.”
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This album is beaming with beautiful intimacy, sweetness and joy. Just as we said on Facebook: Jennah Barry’s Holiday is the warm Winter blanket you want to snuggle up with. Or the Spring sunrays you want to bathe in. The release date is March, but this review includes three songs (Roller Disco, The Real Moon and Pink Grey Blue) to keep your merry spirit on waiting.
Jennah Barry, Holiday: our review
“Pretty much everything I write, I want that feeling. I want everyone who listens to lean their head against the backseat of a car, dreaming about their life.”
– Jennah Barry.
No Dancer
No waste of time, no introduction: No Dancer sets us right in the atmosphere of the forthcoming tracks. This approach is remarkable to us since it seems that more and more albums tend to use first tracks as space fillers.
Roller Disco
Roller Disco has this very special vibe that only a few acoustic folk singers from the sixties can truly render. Songs like Roller Disco are the perfect introduction to iconic albums such as Melanie Safka’s “Leftover Wine”.
The Real Moon
Lyrically and musically speaking, our very favorite of the album. The Real Moon is sweet and melancholic, comparable to The Micropops’ “Solo” or The Corrs’ “Radio”, minus the contagious sadness. The Real Moon has something therapeutic.
Big Universe
Moving chords progression. The way the instruments appear the one after the other is simply stunning. Big universe takes you on a trip throughout this big, big, big universe. Literally. One star at a time.
Are You Dreaming?
Are You Dreaming? is a fantastic lullaby. This track is relatively short, which totally reinforces its preciousness. Makes you want to stare at the sky endlessly for a pure moment of candid bliss. A track of choice for a soft break from the modern world.
Rocket
A slow dance track, overwhelming in the right sense, but not unforgettable.
I See Morning
I See Morning is a track that will ravish Neil Young fans. I See Morning beautifully epitomizes Harvest Moon without carbon copying it. Attentive listeners might also perceive the sense of intimacy previously given by Johnny Cash‘s American Series.
Pink Grey Blue
Pink Grey Blue is Holiday’s last single at the time of writing.
Vocally, the track is superb. Pink Grey Blue is a great song in itself, but placing it around the end of the record is a slightly odd choice. The track lacks of the richness we’ve been accustomed to.
Now here we are, feeling like spoiled kids. 😉
Stop The Train
Beautiful slow minimalism. Stop The Train gives us one last opportunity to feel Jennah’s sense of measure, and to appreciate her high-pitched vibrato.
The last thirty seconds of the record are made of a mesmerizing lo-fi recording, let’s hope that it is a sign that Jennah Barry didn’t say it all with Holiday!
Jennah Berry, Holiday, available March 2020.
Personel:
Jennah Barry – vocals, guitar, percussion, horn, piano, casio
Colin Nealis – bass, lap steel, mellotron, percussion, clarinet, strings, sequencer, synth, vibraphone
Mike Belyea – drums
Jonathan Anderson – shaker
Jordi Comstock – drums, bongos
Michael Sachs – woodwinds
Glenn Patscha (Bonnie Raitt, Roseanne Cash) – keys, synth, pump organ, organ
Grace Adams, Addie Burkam, Emily Challis – vocals
Mixed by Jonathan Anderson
Engineered by John Adams and Colin Nealis
Produced by Colin Nealis (Andy Shauf, Foxwarren)
Written by Marc Louis-Boyard for Slow Culture.
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