Valerie June - Owls, Omens and Oracles

by Zena Grieg

published: 8 / 6 / 2025

Label: Select Label
Format: CD

Uplifting third album from Tennessee-born singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Valerie June

Review

Tennessee-born singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Valerie June received critical acclaim for her distinctive blend of folk, soul, blues and roots with her third album, the Dan Auerbach – produced ‘Pushin’ Against A Stone’. Following up on her 2021 ‘The Moon And Stars – Prescription For Dreamers’, June has now brought out ‘Owls, Omens And Oracles’. Produced by M.Ward, the new release is a soulful mix of blues, gospel, soul, folk and country-tinged songs which exude optimism and proclaim a defiance of despondency. Highlights of this fourteen -track collection include: the opener, funky, languid lead single ‘Joy, Joy’, highlighting June’s distinctive Tennessee twang; catchy, doo-wap ‘All I Really Wanna Do’ with its diverse keyboard accompaniment, from piano to glockenspiel to organ; the uplifting, anthemic ‘Endless Tree’ with its lines promoting interconnectivity: “Are you ready to see?/A world where we could all be free/As branches of an endless tree”; the stirring mid-tempo, piano-led ballad ‘Trust the Path’; bluesy, joyous ‘Love Me Any Ole Way’ with its riotous trumpet, trombone and saxophone melange, its lyrics exhorting authenticity: “Don’t try to make it all just right/Don’t shine the rust or hide the light/Just be true and keep it real/Oh, A heart that aches is a heart that feels”; gospel ‘Changed’ with a chorus by The Blind Boys of Alabama; slinky, experimental, dub-style ‘Superpower’; a minimally-arranged collaboration with Norah Jones on ‘Sweet Things Just For You’; the sparse, striking a capella ‘’Calling My Spirit’; and the closer, with its simple message of acceptance: “This is not a goodbye, this is not a hello/This is my way of saying I know when to let go/They say love and love hard, if you love and love true/And if you love and let go, it will come back to you”. Expansive, passionate, ‘Owls, Omens And Oracles’ is an album rich with infectious positivity, inviting repeated listening.

Track Listing:-

1 Joy, Joy!
2 All I Really Wanna Do
3 Endless Tree
4 Inside Me
5 Trust The Path
6 Love Me Any Ole Way
7 Changed
8 Superpower
9 Sweet Things Just for You
10 I Am In Love
11 Calling My Spirit
12 My Life Is A Country Song
13 Missin’ You (Yeah, Yeah)
14 Love And Let Go