Jump For Joy
Sham/Thirty Tigers, 2021
9/10
It’s been 13 years since Gary Louris, the frontman for the always exceptional The Jayhawks, has released a solo album, and he makes it worth the wait as 10 tunes that he wrote, recorded and produced himself embrace pop influences while still being true to the rootsy sounds of his full band work.
Louris starts the listen with what he does best on “Almost Home”, i.e. breezy acoustic guitar alongside his unmistakable, poetic singing as some playful synth buzzing giving it a modern pop angle, and “Living In-Between” follows with a jangly folk quality that even embraces some psychedelic ideas.
Entering the middle, “New Normal” uses well timed piano and frisky drumming to point towards the ‘60s, while “Mr. Updike” is flawless folk-rock that gets a bit dreamy as Louris’ vocals soar high. “Too Late The Key” then trims the pace and volume back to sublime, warm guitar strumming alongside soothing backing vocals.
The title track lands near the end and shows even more admiration for his wife, Stephanie, who the album is dedicated to, as keys and strings provide an elegant backdrop, and “Dead Man’s Burden” exits the listen with a retro quality as 8+ minutes of manipulated melodies with piano take focus on the adventurous finish.
Louris fills this fantastic effort with guitar solos, plenty of synth stabs and his always eloquent wordplay that even offers a straight forward love song. For fans of anything Louris has done, this is on par with some of his best work, and if for some reason you’re still unacquainted with him, well, you may as well rectify that with Jump For Joy.
Travels well with: Mark Erelli- Blindsided; The Jayhawks- XOXO