Though Cara Luft, a founding member of the Wailin' Jennys, was replaced by Annabelle Chvostek, the band's tight harmonies and pretty folk songs haven't changed at all on their second album, Firecracker. In fact, they've even gotten better. Chvostek's voice is seductively low and versatile, and it blends well with and adds a lot of strength and depth to the higher ranges that Ruth Moody and Nicky Mehta provide. All three Jennys are also great songwriters, and everything on the album is well done, with thoughtful reflective lyrics about love and friendship and death, the cold autumn wind of the Canadian prairie blowing through the record, shaping and influencing the mandolin, the banjo, the acoustic guitar, the violin, the National Steel. It's music with a dark, sweet edge, like it understands the pain in the world but still chooses to focus on what's good instead. "Swallow," though in its attempt to maintain rhythm and rhyme the lyrics can occasionally sound a little corny ("You got me, arrow shot me/Now come connect the dot me"), lilts along like the bird itself as it explores love's transience, while "Avila" is simple and pretty, with a delicate chorus of "O sweet peace never have you fallen/never have you fallen upon this town," sung in three-part harmony, that sense of longing lodged between the notes of a slow, aching electric guitar solo that winds its way through the song. A similar feeling is also apparent in "Glory Bound," manifested as a desire for a reprieve from life's hardships. It's not morbid, it's simply sad and honest in that uplifting way that only country and folk music can be. There is a melancholy that lies within many of the Wailin' Jennys' songs, but there's still an overwhelming sense of hope and happiness that is even stronger, and makes Firecracker a really great, uncontrived album. ~ Marisa Brown
Additional personnel: Mike Hardwick (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, dobro); Richard Moody (violin, viola); David Travers-Smith (trumpet, horns, organ, percussion); Joe Phillips (acoustic bass); Christian Dugas (drums).
Dirty Linen (p.50) - "[Their] spare, modern lyrics are set to haunting, traditional-sounding melodies with an alt-country/old-time sound borrowed from the American South." No Depression (p.118) - "Whether leading with Moody's sweet soprano, Mehta's supple mezzo-soprano, or Chvostek's solid alto, the Jennys engage on a purely delightful level of melody and harmony."
Great group and sound My daughter turned me on to the Jennys, and this is my third album of theirs. She discovered them through Garrison Keillor's show. I have found their sound to be fresh and at the same time nostalgic. A great listen. Submitted by Jim (Marion, OH, USA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Best Female Group Alive, well, WHY NOT! It is not often I copy someone´s headline, but in this chase it says it all! Buy their 2 Studio Albums and you have music to listen to in every situation in life, there are not many like these! Now to the strange thing, not a single line in a magazine or any other place, I found these for me "hidden gems" at MySpace. A cheap way for record companies to announce their new stars after burning all their money on the so called "famous" stars. If famous, why all these backup. No, HURRAY for groups like "The WAILIN JENNYS", they got what it takes. Submitted by lelarsson (Gothenburg, Sweden, Europe) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Best Female Voal Group Alive Having bought both 40 Days and Firecracker CDs and playing them daily, I can only compare this trio and the music to Dolly, Linda and Emmylou. After seeing them in person and being "blown away" I can only say that, buy there music, listen to it and fall in love. Submitted by Jackson (Trenton, OH) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
“SET YOUR SIGHTS A HOMEWARD” The third recording from the amazing Wailin’ Jennys is a real corker. It’s hard to imagine a more beautiful album will be released this year. Following their first indie release and 2004’s gorgeous 40 DAYS, FIRECRACKER is even better. While many are focusing this year on the nice vocalizing of the magisterial Emmylou Harris and the quite different Mark Knopfler on their album of duets, ALL THE ROADRUNNING, FIRECRACKER may get much less attention than it deserves. You won’t hear more exhilarating harmony work than that of the Jennys in this new cd.
Ruth Moody—of the sweetest soprano and a folkie bent—and Nicky Mehta—with a poignant mezzo voice and an otherworldly outlook—join their newest member, Annabelle Chvostek—who has her own beautiful alto and a nice edgy sensibility. Annabelle replaces Cara Luft in the trio and brings something wonderful to their already impressive musicianship. They all play acoustic instruments with great skill: Ruth—the accordion and banjo, Nicky—the harmonica and guitar, and Annabelle—a great mandolin and violin. As in their previous recordings, each of the Jenny’s manage to retain their own sound and songwriting style while forging an unmistakable “Jennys sound” that is intoxicating.
“Home” is the recurring image and theme of FIRECRACKER. Nine of the 13 songs directly address this:
--“leave the dream of hearth and home”
--“in a better home soon I will reside.”
--“a place to call your own, to call your home.”
--“take me back to my beginning…take me home.”
--“follow heart, follow home…one round heart, one round home.”
--“now the coldest day of winter has made a home of my heart.”
--“my soul now seeks another home”
--“looking for a place to find some rest”
--“you set your sights a homeward.”
Loving the singing and writing of Ruth, Nicky and Annabelle, it’s hard to single out particular cuts in this uniformly superb production. I was, however, struck by the particular poignancy of Nicky’s songs (“Begin”—listen to the way she stretches her deliver of “let go,” “Starlight”—the affecting mantra of “take me home…take me home,” and “Avila”—a sweet and simple a capella number of exquisite harmony) and the exhilaration of Annabelle’s (“The Devil’s Paintbrush Road,” “Swallow,” “Apocalypse Lullaby,” and the great title tune, “Firecracker”). Ruth Moody, too, continues to compose and deliver songs right from the heart.
Take yourself a homeward and listen.
Submitted by David (Annapolis, MD, USA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
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