One of the most memorable debut albums to come our way over the past few years, Eilen Jewell’s ‘Boundary County’ is a collection of 13 songs that mix country, folk and blues into an album of memorable and authentic Americana.
Delicately constructed and structured, the acoustic backing of guitars, mandolin, dobro, bass and violin provide a subtle and bare backdrop for her stunning vocals. Her delivery is sultry and evocative, and while her vocals are reminiscent of Gillian Welch and Billie Holliday, she imitates neither and comes across as an individual artist.
Her songwriting is equally strong and she crafts imagery that evokes the mountains of rural Appalachia, and this is reinforced by the spare arrangements and traditional feel to the instrumentation.
While an album such as this works best as a continuous listen, there are some wonderful highlights, her forthright commentary on the floods of New Orleans is compelling, and the title track is an evocative song with the narrator reminiscing over their home.
Eilen Jewell is a young writer of the highest quality and this is an album full of maturity in both the lyrics and arrangements. Highly recommended.

£13.49