SARAH JAROSZ : UNDERCURRENT

1. Early Morning Light
2. Green Lights
3. House Of Mercy
4. Everything To Hide
5. Back Of My Mind
6. Comin' Undone
7. Take Another Turn
8. Lost Dog
9. Take Me Back
10. Still Life
11. Jacqueline

Label : Sugar Hill Records

Release Date : June 17, 2016

Length : 36:24

Review (AllMusic) : On her first studio recording in three years, singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Sarah Jarosz completes the musical shift that began on 2013's Build Me Up from Bones. The earlier album, recorded while finishing her studies at the New England Conservatory of Music, explored songwriting outside the norms of contemporary folk, bluegrass, and country. Undercurrent finds her defining a music built out from American roots traditions, not bound by them. She wrote or co-wrote all 11 songs -- a first. Another is the album's instrumentation. While her octave mandolin and banjo playing are present, guitar is the dominant instrument here. Now living in New York, Jarosz surrounds herself with familiar collaborators who include I'm with Her bandmates Sara Watkins and Aoife O'Donovan, Luke Reynolds, Parker Millsap, and Jedd Hughes. The fingerpicked solo acoustic opener "Early Morning Light" commences with the audacious lyric "All my troubles have just begun...." It's a broken love/leaving song that admits regret and doubt, but ultimately refuses anything but forward motion. First single "House of Mercy," with its minor-key, rumbling, low-tuned acoustic guitar and arco bass, is a dark, steely Americana blues. It's a bitter kiss-off tune to a bad-news ex, spiny and forceful: "This house wasn't meant for strangers/But you come knockin' anyway...Underneath that shirt you're wearin'/Strained muscles and a heart of stone...You make me want to be alone...." "Comin' Undone" is a jazzy, rag-tinged shuffle outfitted with a gospelized B-3 and ringing electric six-strings. Lyrically, it offers more optimism than its melancholy title indicates. On the solo acoustic "Take Another Turn," in 6/8 time, Jarosz asks "What does it mean to be hungry/Hungry and hunting and wild...Should you talk to yourself a little more/Push right through that closed door." On "Take Me Back," her protagonist desires a return to solace and refuge but also accepts that nothing last forever, as an electric guitar adds poignant solo fills. "Still Life," driven by a lonesome fiddle, is another broken relationship song. In it she questions settling for less, but refuses, even though it means leaving a beloved who cannot completely surrender to what love demands. Though darker than her previous albums, Undercurrent is also more resilient. Jarosz reaches through her musical and personal histories with vulnerability and willingness. She comes out on the other side with songs that possess narrative savvy, melodic invention, and a refreshing sense of self-assuredness.

Review (Folkradio) : Gifted Texan singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sarah Jarosz has been making music almost all her young life and Undercurrent, her fourth solo album, sees her exploring further from her bluegrass roots and into classic singer-songwriter territory, with various folk, pop and blues influences in evidence. Still only in her mid-20s, Jarosz was signed to Sugar Hill Records while in high school and released debut album Song Up in Her Head aged just 18. Originally known as a mandolin prodigy and performing at bluegrass festivals in the USA from a young age, Sarah is also a fine singer and accomplished guitar, clawhammer banjo and octave mandolin player. In addition to all these gifts, it's her talent as a songwriter and music creator that sets her apart from many of her contemporaries, and she's achieved several Grammy nominations already. Though still not universally known on the folk and roots scene in the UK, Jarosz has been building up a faithful following while touring here regularly over the last six years. Her reputation was boosted by being featured on the 5th season of the Transatlantic Sessions TV series and she's a prolific collaborator, recording and performing with numerous big hitters of the genre, including Jerry Douglas, Tim O'Brien and Chris Thile. Recently she's embarked on another side project, the all-female supergroup I'm With Her (Union Chapel Live Review here), which also includes Aoife O'Donovan (Crooked Still) and Sara Watkins (Nickel Creek). Undercurrent is Jarosz's first release since graduating from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, and her first since relocating to New York City. Unusually for Sarah, it's made up entirely of original songs (including a number of co-writes); despite her songwriting prowess, previous releases have always included a couple of fine cover versions. This focus on original work and music creation further intensifies the impression that Jarosz is prioritising her progression as a songwriter. Guitar is her preferred instrument on the majority of songs, with Sarah playing clawhammer banjo on just one track. Mandolin, formerly her primary instrument, isn't featured at all although its bigger brother, the octave mandolin, makes quite a few appearances. Talented guest musicians (including veteran roots musician Mark Schatz on bass) perform on many of the songs here, alongside a number of purely solo tracks. Opener Early Morning Light sets the emotional tone for much of the album, a wistful and regretful reflection on lost love with Sarah's rich, mellow vocal backed by acoustic guitar. Green Lights is a complete contrast, a light hearted, dreamy slice of folk-pop with Luke Reynolds' acoustic and electric guitars layered over the octave mandolin, which occasionally sounds like sitar on this outing. Luke's harmony vocal throughout much of the song adds to the West Coast feel. For me House of Mercy is one of the standout tracks, a memorable and brilliantly constructed song co-written with Sarah's longtime collaborator Jedd Hughes. The theme of moving on and lost love re-surfaces but here the feel is hard-edged and gritty. The author makes it plain that she ain't gonna be treated this way (as the old song goes) and the claustrophobic atmosphere builds throughout, with the guitar and octave mandolin reflecting the vocal theme of the chorus. Everything to Hide continues strongly with the slight feeling of menace and like the opener it's driven by the simple but effective twin force of Sarah's voice and acoustic guitar. Back of my Mind is a lilting song with some mellow pedal steel from Reynolds, and Comin' Undone shakes things up with a foray into funky blues/folk fusion. Despite the lyrical references to the world going to hell in a handcart, it's a feelgood number with Tim Lauer adding distinctive B3 organ stylings, and there's a recurring motif in the lyrics which harks back to Sarah's debut Song Up in My Head. Another of the album's strong solo tracks, Take Another Turn features beautiful guitar work from Sarah as she muses on the human condition. The only song to feature clawhammer banjo, Lost Dog aches with melancholy as Jedd Hughes complements Jarosz on guitar as well as subtle harmony singing, and Mark Schatz contributes some gorgeous bowed bass. Take Me Back also features a fine harmony vocal from Hughes, which initially had me reaching for the liner notes as it's so reminiscent of Paul Simon, one of Sarah's musical heroes. Still Life (co-written with Aoife O'Donovan) is another bittersweet, achingly lovely slice of music, this time featuring Sarah's I'm With Her bandmates O'Donovan and Sara Watkins, who make classy contributions on guitar/harmony vocal and fiddle respectively. Album closer, the lovely lament Jacqueline, is another showcase of Jarosz's solo powers as she accompanies herself on delicate electric guitar. There is a definite shape to the album and it's a rewarding experience to listen to the whole thing in sequence. As Jarosz herself explains, "This is the first record I've ever made that feels to me like a complete thought, with a beginning, a middle and an ending. I wanted it to feel like the rollercoaster ride that is life, so I put a lot of thought into sequencing the songs. It was important for me to start with light, and then go through darker times, and stubbornness and strength and weakness, and then end up on a hopeful note." All in all, Undercurrent is a fine, thoughtful collection of songs, beautifully performed by Sarah Jarosz and her musical partners and showcasing a supremely gifted and still relatively unknown artist maturing into her prime.

Review (De Krenten Uit De Pop) : De in Austin, Texas, geboren muzikante Sarah Jarosz werd vorige maand pas 25, maar heeft inmiddels al een heel muziekleven achter zich. Op haar twaalfde stond ze als snarenwonder al op het podium met diverse grootheden uit de bluegrass, op haar zestiende debuteerde ze zeer verdienstelijk met het op het gerenommeerde Sugar Hill label uitgebrachte en zeer fraaie Song Up In Hear Head en ook met het in 2011 verschenen Follow Me Down en het uit 2013 stammende Build Me Up From Bones maakte de jonge Sarah Jarosz veel indruk. Heel veel indruk zelfs. Inmiddels zijn we weer drie jaar verder en mogen we spreken van een gelouterde muzikante. De tegenwoordig in New York woonachtige Sarah Jarosz liet op het geweldige Build Me Up From Bones al horen dat ze binnen de Amerikaanse rootsmuziek op een breed terrein uit de voeten kan en dat terrein is op Undercurrent alleen maar breder geworden. Dat betekent overigens niet dat er heel veel veranderd is. Ook op Undercurrent laat Sarah Jarosz weer horen dat ze meerdere snareninstrumenten (banjo, mandoline, gitaar) tot in de perfectie beheerst en dat ze ook nog eens beschikt over een geweldige stem. De Amerikaanse singer-songwriter omringt zich inmiddels al een aantal jaren met dezelfde muzikanten en deze zijn ook op Undercurrent van de partij. Op de plaat zijn wat minder gastmuzikanten te horen dan op de vorige plaat, maar met bijdragen van onder andere Sara Watkins, Aoife O'Donovan, Luke Reynolds, Parker Millsap en Jedd Hughes valt er voor de liefhebber van Amerikaanse rootsmuziek niets te klagen. Persoonlijk hoor ik Sarah Jarosz misschien nog wel het liefst in haar duppie, zoals in de mooiste songs op de plaat (Early Morning Light, Everything to Hide, Take Another Turn en Jacqueline). Bluegrass was de eerste liefde van Sarah Jarosz en die liefde houdt de Amerikaanse ook op Undercurrent in ere, al hebben invloeden uit de folk en country zeker aan invloed gewonnen en duiken er ook wat jazzy invloeden op. De instrumentatie op de plaat is ingetogen maar echt wonderschoon. In de instrumentatie staan de snareninstrumenten centraal, maar ook de subtiele bijdragen van andere instrumenten zijn bijzonder trefzeker. Het past allemaal prachtig bij de stem van Sarah Jarosz, die de afgelopen drie jaar zeker aan kracht en doorleving heeft gewonnen. In een aantal songs op Undercurrent steekt Sarah Jarosz de helaas weinig productieve Gillian Welch naar de kroon met prachtige bijna verstilde songs, maar op haar nieuwe plaat vindt de jonge Amerikaanse muzikante ook aansluiting bij andere genres binnen de Americana. Undercurrent is wel een plaat die je met volledige aandacht moet beluisteren, maar als je dit doet valt er verschrikkelijk veel moois te ontdekken en is kippenvel zeker niet uit te sluiten. Sarah Jarosz zal wel een keer stoppen met groeien, maar vooralsnog is de groei die ze ook op Undercurrent weer laat horen bijzonder indrukwekkend. Voor mij een jaarlijstjesplaat.