KAREN JONAS

Butter

Self-Released, 2018

9/10

Though folk and country might be the biggest contributions to the formula Karen Jonas uses, she’s also got a penchant for blues, jazz and ragtime on this very retro and fun 10 tunes that yield a very unique brand of Americana from the Virginia songstress.

Butter lets organs set the mood on the opening “Yellow Brick Road”, where sweet and expressively vocals work well with the bright, warm instrumentation, and from there things ache with the pedal steel of “My Sweet Arsonist”, where a more introspective atmosphere arrives.

As the albums moves on, things get more exploratory with the horns and soulful “Butter”, the breezy country melody of “Gospel Of The Road”, and throwback shuffle of “Oh Icarus” that sounds like it could be playing in a speakeasy 100 years ago. All of the varied influences come together on the jazzy, big band, carnivalesque sounds of “Mr. Wonka”, which really displays what Jonas is capable of with her varied craft.

An extremely eclectic and accomplished album, Jonas is daring enough to incorporate a lot of elements often absent from Americana, and together with her flawless pipes our only real option is to be left in awe.

Travels well with: Ryan Culwell- Flatlands; Ruby Boots- Don’t Talk About It