Jace Everett - Terra Rosa
Haywood Group Productions CD-HGP-527
Indiana-born and Texas-raised Jace Everett’s upbringing in the evangelical church, and his far-flung travels are apparent in his songs on TERRA ROSA. The guy behind Bad Things, the compelling song that he wrote and sang that became a cult hit when used as hit TV series True Blood’s opening credits, continues to use misdirection with this latest surreal, heady and innovative fusion of styles. A true album in the old-fashioned sense, rather than a disparate collection of tracks, the songs here are explosions of resolute urgency, charged with doubt, questions and personal power. He sums up his own personal worldview majestically with the album’s first single, No Place To Hide, which is going to be featured in the newest episode of True Blood. Robed in shimmering guitars and heavenly gospel background vocals, this is a new sonic presentation of Everett’s evocative signature style. His use of biblical references resurfaces time and time again throughout these songs, a testament to his childhood church upbringing and his own insecurities and doubts about life and religion as he travels through adulthood.
B3 organ, strings and electric guitars swell In The Garden a gospel-like hymn as Jace’s soulful yet delicately brittle tones merge reminiscence with elegiac regret. Mandolin sets the tone for Pennsylvania, a more country-styled arrangement with handclaps setting the rhythm for yet another unique gospel-tinged song that is again full of doubts mixed with optimism. A similar tale of being beleaguered and confused is the lyrical approach of The Great Fish. The arrangement is textured and vibrant, but it’s still the personality in Jace Everett’s voice that sells this type of song. It’s his voice that really steals the show. On the record, it’s powerful, searing, sometimes growling. Listen to the powerhouse verses and choruses, listen to his extensions of some syllables—you just know that the veins on the sides of his neck are protruding, his lungs and diaphragm are doing the job of a well-trained singer, he could indeed blow down a house of bricks. Throughout this album it’s majestic, it’s real, and it’ll absolutely blow you away.
www.jaceeverett.com
Indiana-born and Texas-raised Jace Everett’s upbringing in the evangelical church, and his far-flung travels are apparent in his songs on TERRA ROSA. The guy behind Bad Things, the compelling song that he wrote and sang that became a cult hit when used as hit TV series True Blood’s opening credits, continues to use misdirection with this latest surreal, heady and innovative fusion of styles. A true album in the old-fashioned sense, rather than a disparate collection of tracks, the songs here are explosions of resolute urgency, charged with doubt, questions and personal power. He sums up his own personal worldview majestically with the album’s first single, No Place To Hide, which is going to be featured in the newest episode of True Blood. Robed in shimmering guitars and heavenly gospel background vocals, this is a new sonic presentation of Everett’s evocative signature style. His use of biblical references resurfaces time and time again throughout these songs, a testament to his childhood church upbringing and his own insecurities and doubts about life and religion as he travels through adulthood.B3 organ, strings and electric guitars swell In The Garden a gospel-like hymn as Jace’s soulful yet delicately brittle tones merge reminiscence with elegiac regret. Mandolin sets the tone for Pennsylvania, a more country-styled arrangement with handclaps setting the rhythm for yet another unique gospel-tinged song that is again full of doubts mixed with optimism. A similar tale of being beleaguered and confused is the lyrical approach of The Great Fish. The arrangement is textured and vibrant, but it’s still the personality in Jace Everett’s voice that sells this type of song. It’s his voice that really steals the show. On the record, it’s powerful, searing, sometimes growling. Listen to the powerhouse verses and choruses, listen to his extensions of some syllables—you just know that the veins on the sides of his neck are protruding, his lungs and diaphragm are doing the job of a well-trained singer, he could indeed blow down a house of bricks. Throughout this album it’s majestic, it’s real, and it’ll absolutely blow you away.
www.jaceeverett.com