Jana Hunter - There's No Home

  by Andrew Carver

published: 22 / 7 / 2007

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Jana Hunter’s second long-player, ‘There’s No Home’, introduces itself with ‘Palms’, a lament to love lost, or perhaps never realized, with downcast male and female vocals singing the same lyrics over echoing acoustic guitar and a fillip of electric piano near the end. It doesn’t get much more cheerful over the course of the album’s 13 songs and two guitar interludes, though Hunter does blend in a few more musical elements, starting with the next track, ‘Babies’. Its vocal ‘bum-bum-bums’ in the background lend a somewhat jaunty air to the tune, counteracted by a creeking hill fiddle. But the course has been set: Hunter’s tackles loss and leaving with a weary croon. The songs are concise, sticking around the three-minute mark, and the mood usually melancholic, or at least resigned. Things do take a livelier turn on ‘Vultures’ – like ‘Palms’ it’s a story of one departed (permanently or temporarily), but the brisk strumming and sepulchral chorus which limn the tune makes it sound like a more cheerful prospect. ‘Movies’ is a dreamy piece, featuring more wordless singing over guitar. A snippet of subterranean acoustic reverb bridges into the album’s second portion. From there it’s on to ‘Regardless’, which features a finger-picked guitar figure reminiscent of Elliott Smith’s songs. While using many of the same elements – including the theme of departure – the acoustic guitar on ‘Bird’ suggests a campfire singalong. ‘Pinnacle’ uses Hunter’s smokiest vocals over some ominously rumbling drums and a sinister drone that dissolves into squealing feedback. A second snippet of aqueous guitar marks off the album’s third part. ‘Oracle’, ‘Recess’, ‘Sirens’, ‘Sleep’ and the title track swim through the same territory, with the farewell song revealing the cavernous guitar interludes as test runs for its own echo-drenched backing. ‘There’s No Home’ is a haunting work that adds another fine chapter to the new folk canon.

Track Listing:-

1 Palms
2 Babies
3 Valkyries
4 Vultures
5 Movies
6 (Guitar)
7 Regardless
8 Bird
9 Pinnacle
10 (Guitar)
11 Oracle
12 Recess
13 Sirens
14 Sleep
15 There's No Home

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