Jakob Dylan
Women + Country
3.9/5
Listen to: Holy Rollers For Love
Skip it: Truth For A Truth
Jakob Dylan’s 2008 debut solo effort Seeing Things faced harsh reviews, most notably accusing Dylan and lone guitar of being too raw and boring a duo. Usher in Dylan’s latest work Women + Country, which forges a new folk-country landscape.
The sun rises over album-opener “Nothing But The Whole Wide World,” revealing the newly acquired feminine vocal presence of Neko Case and Kelly Hogan. Acting solely as a harmony section, Dylan’s women are an easily welcomed contrast to his distinct undertone voice.
A mid-day calm settles in less optimistic sounding second song “Down On Our Own Shield.” The tune furthers Dylan’s musical horizon by dawning an instrumental pair of slide steel strings and banjo that trade up focus between one another, a technique used on most tracks. The ladies persist, providing frequent backup vocals sneaking in at essential moments.
Then “Lend A Hand,” complete with muzzled trumpet squawks and free-ranging blues guitar, leaves Dylan alone on the microphone. The speakeasy appropriate song frumps along a tipsy bass line and distant time-keeping bass drum, then eases seamlessly into slow-wandering “We Don’t Live Here Anymore,” reminiscent of sixties electric country.
The next four songs plateau somberly with Dylan’s voice challenged by the women’s harmonizing cries and emotion inducing western string instruments. “Truth For A Truth” struggles to entertain with an off-kilter guitar lead, before tempo rises again in “They’ve Trapped Us Boys” with a hoedown hop-along banjo and Cash-style bass line.
“Smile When You Call Me That” and “Standing Eight Count” achieve a high point for the album to end on, like it began. A day in the new life of a lone guitarman supported by a rejuvenating backing band.
Track Listing:
1. Nothing But The Whole Wide World
2. Down On Our Own Shield
3. Lend A Hand
4. We Don’t Live Here Anymore
5. Everybody’s Hurting
6. Yonder Come The Blues
7. Holy Rollers For Love
8. Truth For A Truth
9. They’ve Trapped Us Boys
10. Smile When You Call Me That
11. Standing Eight Count
Women + Country
3.9/5
Listen to: Holy Rollers For Love
Skip it: Truth For A Truth
Jakob Dylan’s 2008 debut solo effort Seeing Things faced harsh reviews, most notably accusing Dylan and lone guitar of being too raw and boring a duo. Usher in Dylan’s latest work Women + Country, which forges a new folk-country landscape.
The sun rises over album-opener “Nothing But The Whole Wide World,” revealing the newly acquired feminine vocal presence of Neko Case and Kelly Hogan. Acting solely as a harmony section, Dylan’s women are an easily welcomed contrast to his distinct undertone voice.
A mid-day calm settles in less optimistic sounding second song “Down On Our Own Shield.” The tune furthers Dylan’s musical horizon by dawning an instrumental pair of slide steel strings and banjo that trade up focus between one another, a technique used on most tracks. The ladies persist, providing frequent backup vocals sneaking in at essential moments.
Then “Lend A Hand,” complete with muzzled trumpet squawks and free-ranging blues guitar, leaves Dylan alone on the microphone. The speakeasy appropriate song frumps along a tipsy bass line and distant time-keeping bass drum, then eases seamlessly into slow-wandering “We Don’t Live Here Anymore,” reminiscent of sixties electric country.
The next four songs plateau somberly with Dylan’s voice challenged by the women’s harmonizing cries and emotion inducing western string instruments. “Truth For A Truth” struggles to entertain with an off-kilter guitar lead, before tempo rises again in “They’ve Trapped Us Boys” with a hoedown hop-along banjo and Cash-style bass line.
“Smile When You Call Me That” and “Standing Eight Count” achieve a high point for the album to end on, like it began. A day in the new life of a lone guitarman supported by a rejuvenating backing band.
Track Listing:
1. Nothing But The Whole Wide World
2. Down On Our Own Shield
3. Lend A Hand
4. We Don’t Live Here Anymore
5. Everybody’s Hurting
6. Yonder Come The Blues
7. Holy Rollers For Love
8. Truth For A Truth
9. They’ve Trapped Us Boys
10. Smile When You Call Me That
11. Standing Eight Count
Published by Tangible Sounds Music Magazine
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