Jen Gloeckner |
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I like this Jen Gloeckner CD. I do. As far as female singer-songwriters go, this American artist has some real talent, and she’s gradually gaining recognition. ‘Miles Away’ opens her debut softly, with a slowly picked acoustic guitar and a pretty vocal accompaniment. It just starts off feeling right. Even when that slow picking switches to the gentle strum of ‘Remember When’, it doesn’t lose me for a second, so that’s an encouraging start.
Then it keeps getting better, surprising you each time. ‘Hazy Sky’ has this perfect lazy, swaying strum that just enraptures your mind. Every bar is like a small wave lapping at the beach with the tide coming in. Over and over it loops, yet you never want to let it go. Eventually you have to.
That’s followed by ‘Seven Maids’, and I hate to be so damned chronological, but Miles Away just starts off like a journey with each song being a stop along the way, so it’s difficult to disassociate from that routine. Anyway, if there would be a hit single it would be this. As hypnotic as previously, still gentle, it also hides a darker undercurrent too, showing that there is some extra substance to this music.
You see, in relation to your average struggling musician, this is one of the most polished albums I’ve ever heard. The standard is high enough to dominate radio and compete with chart acts. Strings, wind instruments, perfect mixing, and strong musicianship are all on display. Admittedly, it would make the Norah Jones generation pee their pants, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing here for the alternative age either.
The only point where the album does start to lose me is when the folk styles gradually make way for a more Ani DiFranco-styled take on jazz in the midsection. I never was an Ani fan and I probably never will be, so the sax solo on ‘Glimpse’, for example, is really going against my better nature. I can survive it and move on, though, because the fact is that there are 15 tracks on offer, all with their own diverse styles and techniques. That’s one of the greatest accomplishments of Miles Away, so there should be a little of something for everyone.
Steven McCarron
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