Rising songstresses bring unique sounds to Vermont
Eilen Jewell and Laura Veirs at Higher Ground
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Eilen Jewell PHOTO BY JENNIFER LUCEY-BRZOZA |
Toolbox
By TOM HUNTINGTON Arts Correspondent - Published: February 5, 2010
Two of the more unique and up-and-coming female singer-songwriters around make back-to-back stops at Higher Ground's intimate Showcase Lounge. Boston-based Eilen Jewell brings her rugged Americana on Thursday, while Oregon-based Laura Veirs brings a dreamier, more delicate sound the following night.
Jewell and her lauded band will also make stops at the Tunbridge Town Hall on Saturday, Feb. 13, and at Boccelli's in Bellows Falls on Friday, Feb. 26.
Here's a closer look at the two artists:
Eilen Jewell
Fans of Lucinda Williams, Gillian Welch and Loretta Lynn – and rootsy early-'60s rock'n'roll – will likely find a lot to like about Eilen (pronounced "ee-lin") Jewell. Just 30, the Boise, Idaho-born and Boston-based singer and guitarist has garnered steady-growing praise for her engaging performances, distinctive vocals and vintage-yet-unique sound.
Jewell and her band – stellar guitarist Jerry Miller, drummer Jason Beek and upright bassist Johnny Sciascia – are touring in support of "Sea of Tears," released last April on independent Massachusetts-based record label, Signature Sounds. The album is Jewell's third, following 2007's acclaimed "Letters from Sinners and Strangers" and 2006's self-released "Boundary County."
While her first two discs distilled everything from folk and classic country to rockabilly and Western swing, "Sea of Tears" was inspired more by late '50s/early '60s rock'n'roll.
"Before I discovered Woody Guthrie and folk music, I was listening to Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly and, later on, the Animals and the Kinks," says Jewell in her press materials. "I love that stuff, and I love to play it."
One of last year's overlooked standout albums, "Sea of Tears" is a classic heartbreak album — and heartbreak has rarely sounded this good. Dark and drenched in reverb, the disc shines on the strength of its straightforwardness and on Jewell's sultry and assured vocals.
Jewell also has a couple of intriguing side projects: The Sacred Shakers is an eight-piece "gospel-country" group, while Butcher Holler is a Loretta Lynn cover band. Jewell recently headed into the studio with the latter, the results of which will likely be her next release for Signature Sounds.
Jewell "is the real deal," said Blurt magazine in a 2008 show review, citing her "stop-you-dead-in-your-tracks voice. The only singer who comes to mind with a set of pipes so deliciously uncomplicated and self-assured is '50s/'60s songbird June Christy."
Jewell and her band "transported the … crowd to some backwoods Kentucky roadhouse, circa 1955," said Blurt. "You couldn't help but feel you were in on the early days of something truly memorable."
Laura Veirs
If ever we've needed Laura Veirs, it's now, smack dab in the middle of a Vermont winter. Fortunately, the entrancing northwestern songstress, 36 – currently seven months pregnant with her first child, no less – will be sharing the warm sounds of her summer-inspired new album, "July Flame," with a visit to the Higher Ground Showcase Lounge on Friday, Feb. 12.
The show is the first stop on her month-long U.S. "July Flame" tour, following a slew of well-received dates in Europe. The album, released last month, is Veirs' seventh — and sixth produced by Tucker Martine, her longtime partner and a renowned producer known for his work with the Decemberists, Sufjan Stevens and Bill Frisell.
A feminist punk-rocker turned dreamy folk-rocker, Veirs has become a cult favorite of sorts on the strength of her captivating vocals and singular sound. Based in Portland, Ore., Veirs is known for her nature-inspired imagery, and "July Flame" is no exception.
Resplendent with summertime images – the title track is named after a type of peach – the album mesmerizes with mostly delicate arrangements adorned by Veirs' ethereal vocals.
Highlights include the super-pretty "I Can See Your Tracks" and "Carol Kaye," two of four tracks that feature vocals by Jim James of rock group My Morning Jacket. Also gorgeous are "Life is Good Blues" and love song, "When You Give Your Heart." "Summer Is Champion" is one of the few upbeat tunes, and a summer anthem if there ever was one.
Written mostly in the barn behind her Portland house, the album "is stripped of the heavy layers characteristic of her previous work and not much of a rock album at all, letting violins and organs often stand in for drums and bass," said the Washington Post.
"And the result is generally dazzling. It does take a few listens to settle in to the slightly off-key, discordant sounds that pepper the album, but the richness you eventually find is well worth it."