Build Myself Up From The Ground
Gone Rogue, 2023
8/10
Listen to Build Myself Up From The Ground
AJ Swearingen and Jayne Kelli return with 6 tracks that use folk and country sounds that aren’t short on dobro, strings and pedal steel to illuminate the authentic beauty.
The warm and pretty “The River” opens the listen with the duo’s glowing vocal harmonies amid fluid acoustic strumming, and “Angel Of The Dark” follows with a particularly heartfelt appeal that’s full of poetic storytelling.
The middle tracks belong to “Build Myself Up From The Ground” and “Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again)”, where the former has Kelli’s sweet voice front and center in the dreamy demeanor, while the latter allows Swearingen’s expressive pipes to shine amid the aching pedal steel in the Kris Kristofferson original.
Landing near the end, “Goodbye” places the piano alongside the cautious, intimate singing, and “This Old House” exits with a bare but powerful duet of sublime beauty.
The duo have sorted through plenty of turmoil, health wise, in recent years, but their stirring song craft remains positive. These songs balance light and dark sensibilities, and it further solidifies their harmonies as some of the best today.
Travels well with: Summerlyn Powers- The Hive; Buttercup- Grand Marais