Jennie Arnau
A Rising Tide
***and1/2 out of *****
Arnau brings a confident voice and guitar playing to her songs working with a stout set of musicians. Supporting Arnau are Alan Lerner: Drums, Pete Levin: Keyboards, Binky Griptite: Electric guitar, Greg McMullen: Pedal Steel, Kendall Sherman: Background Vocals, Jacob Joliff: Mandolin, Mike Savino: Banjo & Tenor guitar, with Brett Bass and Skip Ward splitting time on bass.
The opening track "Oceans Rise" is a successful outlier, delivering the most soulful rock and roll sound on the album with Griptite's (Dap-Kings) guitar blazing out with stunning lines and upbeat organ from Levin coloring the rock. For the rest of the record the tone is downshifted with more of focus on rootsy offerings.
Those songs are accented by producer Phil Palazzollo (Neko Case, The New Pornographers) and perhaps the best attribute of Arnau's solid album is the overall sound of the whole process as each player is vibrant, as is her voice. From the piano ballad "Sail Away" to the mixing of acoustic/pedal steel on "Better Luck Next Time" to the marching heavy drums of "Back To Carolina" the production is perfect, as everything is balanced, nuanced and affecting.
The highlight offerings arrive with "Countryman" which uses Joliff's (Yonder Mountain String Band) standout mandolin work to excellent effect and the fragile "Young & Alone" which finds Arnau overwhelmed by the politics of the day. The albums centerpieces of both "Hold On" and "Simple Man" go for big roots rock sound with strong drumming while Arnau's vocals soar to dramatic heights during "One If By Land" which showcases her most dynamic singing.
The album wraps with a pair of large, dramatic tunes as well as the piano led "Every Raindrop" and the acoustic based "Sunshine" add a dash of Broadway to Arnau's Americana. A strong return, A Rising Tide finds a confident Arnau and crew sounding reinvigorated.
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