Jana Hunter will always have the distinction of being the first artist to have her CD released by Devendra Banhart under his new label Gonomonsong. And for the king of freak folk to take this lady under his wing, you know that the music will be unlike anything else. On Blank Unstaring Heirs of Doom, which has been described as “a collection of early demo recordings”, the folkie-voiced singer digs deep into her musical repertoire, touching on sounds that vary from early Americana to tunes you might hear in the clubs that litter New York City’s Lower East Side.
Starting off with some vintage flavorings on “All the Best Wishes”, Jana Hunter establishes herself as a true freak folk artist. Her haunting, almost chant-like lyrics seem to be filtered through an echo chamber giving the song just the right sort of everything old is new again feeling. The windswept prairie feeling continues on “The Earth Has No Skin” which easily conjures up an old-fashioned séance and a slightly dangerous one at that.
Hunter is also an artist who obviously likes to experiment and stretch beyond the realms of the twangy guitar movement. The track “Christmas” stands out because of its jazz leanings. It’s almost as if the singer conjured up Nina Simone for an assist. The album is brought full circle though by some more typical, but still intriguing songs. “Farm, CA” is full of breezy fun. You can easily imagine kicking your heels up in time with the great guitar plucking.
All in all, Jana Hunter has offered up an eccentric but lovable group of songs. If these are truly only demos, I’d love to hear what she can do with a full out studio recording but then again, those swanked up fully-equipped suites might not be able to contain an artist like this. If you want some real truth to your music, pick up Jana Hunter while she’s still raw and unpolished. |