I first heard Valerie June’s music a bit over a month ago, and immediately knew I wanted to listen to one of her albums. According to Wikipedia, the list of genres she plays is Americana, alternative, roots rock, folk, blues, soul, bluegrass, country, gospel, Appalachian, and dream pop, and she plays guitar, banjo, and ukulele. Needless to say, I’m extremely excited to listen to this album, as those genres are the ones I tend to gravitate towards a lot. This album received pretty high acclaims from critics for the year it was released, and with that said, I’m going to jump on into the music.
“Long Lonely Road” sounds really awesome right away, I’m getting some chills down my spine listening to it. Her voice is so different sounding, both clear, yet sort of slurred together in a really cool way. It sort of reminds me of John Mayer in a really minor way. Wow though, this song sounds like you just walked out of a Tennessee bar at dusk, right past the small town church, right into a forest where you found a brook that seems both endless and peaceful at the same time. Wow, the piano and acoustic guitar and electric guitar all play off each other so well. Wow, I’m super pumped for this album.
“Love You Once Made” starts out with a little bit of twang in June’s voice. Wow, this sounds straight out of the south with its country feel. She sounds like she’s singing to the stars – absolutely lovely. There’s a bluesy country twang to this folksy tune. Wow, this song is absolutely lovely. Wow, there’s such an awesome fusion of folk rock, r&b, soul, country, and gospel. I’m super digging this song and album right now. Wow, this crescendo at the end is absolutely awesome.
“Shakedown” almost feels like it’s some sort of hoedown type of song, but definitely takes more of a folk rock approach to the whole ordeal. Oh wow, that distorted guitar solo absolutely goes in on this track, while the rest of the instrumentation sounds like it’s almost shimmering and echoing around the soundscape. Awesome track. Wow. I’m already texting some buddies about this.
“If And” has a slow moving, nearly bluesy feel to it. It almost reminds me of Elvis Presley a bit. Wow, the music is absolutely lovely. The guitar sort of drones on, while the bass and drums keep things steady moving along, and June’s voice shimmers and shines through the mix. The songwriting and performance in this album has been getting increasingly impressive. Wow, June sort of just walks the track down the line at the end of the tune, when everything sort of fades out in a drone.
“Man Done Wrong” has a little bluesy rootsy rhythm to it, and June is sort of doing some improvised humming on top of it. Oh wow, that twang is delicious. Holy smokes, that banjo playing along with the electric guitar and piano gives such depth and range in sound to the melody being played. Wow, I’m super stoked to be listening to this album right now.
“The Front Door” starts out with some dreamy drone-like tones coming from the keys, while the acoustic guitar gently picks the song up with some chords, and the drums gives the song a platform to stand on, while June twirls the song around the soundscape as if she has the world in the palm of her hand. Wow, things pick up a little bit as the song continues, but only as a totally natural progression of her music. That pedal steel guitar really creates a dream-like country feel, while the keyboard echoes what the guitar is playing, and creates an even more lucid soundscape. The tone of the drums is absolutely awesome too – in combination with the acoustic guitar, there’s definitely a bit of jangliness to the track.
“Astral Plane” starts out like she’s playing like nobody’s watching through a prayer while on the church pew – and definitely like she’s singing to the sky. I’m absolutely getting totally lost in this music – it’s absolutely serene. Wow, this song is absolutely awesome. The music sounds extra-dimensional, and is absolutely lovely.
“Just In Time” feels like June lifted me onto a boat that’s gently flowing down a musical river. The arrangement almost reminds me of The Black Angels in a certain way. Wow, the acoustic guitar keeps things rocking steadily back in forth, while the electric guitar that’s audible at times sounds like the waves gently rocking on the boat back and forth. The string piece really gives the song an almost dusk-like feel, and the sturdy drums and piano serve as the steering mechanism in the watercraft. Absolutely lovely.
“With You” has some super high falsetto voice from June, that is absolutely lovely and unexpected. Her vocal range is incredibly impressive. Wow, that string/violin piece really swirls the song around. Wow, I’m getting absolutely lost in this tune. There’s a very smooth large, yet mellow crashing of cymbals that sort of tie a lot of the elements of the song together.
“Slip Slide On By” starts out super slow, and seems like June is singing quite a nice ballad of some sort. The organ, combined with the scant instrumentation really makes the song feel quite personal. Oh wow, there was a really awesome chord that the electric guitar and/or bass just hit. I can’t place the genre of this song in particular at the moment, but it’s so familiar, and is absolutely lovely. Wow, those horns bring a real nice subtlety to the song. This song builds up so well, wow. The organs, piano, horns, bass, and guitars are really going in on the song really well. The combination of the instruments really play together so well, and the production as a whole is stunning.
“Two Hearts” has a slow organ start to it, but as the drums come on it makes me feel like this song is a train rolling down the tracks, and giving June a really sweet platform to sing and play on. Wow, when that bass comes on it almost feels like a heartbeat to the song. I can’t believe that the album is already on the second to last track – it feels like I just started the album. Wow, this outro sounds like something from that Kurt Vile and Courtney Barnett album I listened to a few weeks ago with the relaxed shimmer it has.
“Got Soul” has a really soulful, nearly funky groove at the start, that evolves into something that feels like carries the essence of soul music with the upbeat feel, that sort of skirts around the blues, and carries a very hopeful tone. Holy smokes, those violins/fiddles at the end sound like they’re out of a bluegrass tune, while the piano and organ sort of complement each other and lift the song up so well. Wow, there are so many musical layers and genres present. The banjo made a quick little appearance in the forefront of the soundscape. Everything is getting tied up at the end as the song goes nearly a-cappella as the song nears the end with just vocals and clapping, but everything comes back together in one awesome soulful jam of a musical crescendo. Really awesome piece to end the album.
Wow, if you haven’t listened to Valerie June yet, please check out this album. I’d recommend this to anyone who even remotely likes any of the many individual genres she fuses together. Seriously, this was an awesome way to spend 44 minutes. If you do decide to give it a listen, I sincerely do hope that you enjoy the album at least as much as I did.
-A