Full Review

Eilen Jewell – Sea of Tears

Eilen’s previous pair of releases have garnered universal praise for their mixture of country, folk , western swing and more; and her versatile band are able to fuse the styles together seamlessly. ‘Sea of Tears’ adds another string to her bow, and while the roots of her earlier albums are all in place, they take a backseat to a fuller sound that encapsulates vintage R&B and early rock – despite all the obvious influences, she remains proudly distinct on the current scene, and those who liked her previous albums are going love this.

Her long time band is a quartet of the very highest calibre with Eilen taking vocals and acoustic guitar, the exceptional Jerry Miller on electric guitars, with Jason Beek and Johnny Sciascia providing drums & harmony vocals and upright bass respectively. They may be a small group of musicians but they create a big sound that is underpinned by the guitar work of Miller across the whole album.

The 12 songs, of which 9 are Jewell originals cover a mixture of subjects; the overall feeling is fairly dark but punctuated by moments of light; the title track is a tremendous song in both the lyrics which are honest, bitter and confrontational, and the arrangements which sees the best guitar work of the album. ‘Nowhere in No Time’ by contrast has an open sound and evocative descriptive lyrics; but perhaps the biggest surprise of the disc is the cover of Johnny Kidd and the Pirates’ ‘Shakin all Over’, which in just three minutes is dark, ominous and sensual, as well as being one of the real musical highlights.

The whole album has real drive running through it, the performances feel very ‘live’ and the production is uncluttered and fresh, and it’s this feeling alongside the mixture of styles that see folk, rock’n’roll, country and western swing come together that makes this a truly unique album. There’s genuinely no-one out there treading the same musical ground as Eilen Jewell, and that alone makes her stand out – add in her quality songwriting and vocals alongside some of the best musicians around, and it makes for a compelling and rewarding collection.