Description
Jacaranda is the fourth album by the American singer and songwriter Josh Garrels, independently released on his own label Small Voice Records in September 2008. Josh Garrels specializes in a fusion of folk music and breakbeats by layering elements of electronic sampling with organic accompaniment. This colorful tapestry of sound is firmly rooted in life experiences, and is held together by his melodic voice and lyrics. Music critic Andy Whitman have stated that “at heart a gentle folkie, Garrels picks his guitar, and sings his contemplative, mystical songs. His subjects – the wonders of the natural world, the still, small voice of God, the sorrows and joys of life on a fallen, dazzling planet – call to mind a young Bruce Cockburn, drunk on beauty, ripped apart by injustice and casual indifference. The songs are complex, nuanced, and lovely.”
Jacaranda was written and recorded in the solitude of an old mansion, at the end of a gravel road, on the banks of the Mississinewa River in Indiana. Many years ago the same house was in the underground railroad as a place of refuge for escaping slaves, and later, in the 1920’s, infamous bank robbers such as John Dillinger used the mansion as a safe-house in between their criminal exploits.
The two instrumentals that bookend the album set the tone: pastoral, quiet, soft enough to allow room for the chirp of crickets and the song of birds. In between the music shimmers and shines and continually escapes easy categorization; a straightforward folkie ballad here, a neo-soul workout with a hint of electronica there, a reggae-tinged spiritual lament here, a Peruvian cumbia there, with a choir of the angelic host breaking in occasionally just to mix things up. Josh Garrels’ voice is wondrously supple throughout, and it’s a joy to listen to him soar into a pure, soulful falsetto. He sings about the birth of a child, the funeral of a loved one, the desert fathers of the early Church, the exploitation of the poor, the soul-crushing demands of the drab and routine, the subtle joys of walking by faith in the darkness. It’s a kaleidoscope of an album, every pattern reflecting an unseen but loving hand. [Andy Whitman, Paste Magazine]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/jacaranda/291033712)
CD tracklist:
01. Lake Yarina – 2:36
02. Don’t Wait For Me – 3:40
03. Season Of Rain – 4:45
04. Rabbit & The Bear – 3:47
05. Centipede – 2:44
06. Zion & Babylon – 4:47
07. Never Have I Found – 3:02
08. Rejoice & Lament – 3:55
09. Words Remain – 4:02
10. Jacaranda Tree – 5:10
11. Little Blue – 3:07
12. Blessed Is He – 4:34
13. Desert Father – 4:26
14. The Original Spacefan – 4:00
15. Embarkation – 4:08
Note: Available at Bandcamp: https://joshgarrels.bandcamp.com/album/jacaranda
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