Album Review: Sarah Jarosz — ‘Undercurrent’
Although only 25, Sarah Jarosz is hardly a newcomer to the music biz: Undercurrent, her fourth studio album, is preceded by 2009’s Song Up In Her Head, 2011’s Follow Me Down, and 2013’s Build Me Up From Bones. The Texas native strikes a contradictory note on her newest work, however — the album has a beautiful sound and a nice warm tone, but some tracks fall short. Let’s take a look at Jarosz’s latest effort.
1. EARLY MORNING LIGHT — 7/10
Undercurrent opens with a post-break up song featuring a nice quiet, meditative vibe. The track’s soothing guitar picking becomes a bit repetitive before moving into a really beautiful instrumental ending.
2. GREEN LIGHTS — 7.5/10
The interesting treatment on Jarosz’s voice is really clever in “Green Lights” — her voice echoes and trails as she sings first about calling out to find a lost lover, and then again as she ponders the stars and celestial workings above our heads. In both cases it is an entirely appropriate choice and suits the song really well. The track has a warm and full sound, and the subtle harmonies on the third verse and choruses are just beautiful.
3. HOUSE OF MERCY — 6.5/10
This song is a bit more twangy than it’s predecessors, with a merciless message. Sarah sings the darker, country version of Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” closing out the track with a nice minimal ending.
4. EVERYTHING TO HIDE — 5/10
This song of unrequited, forbidden love isn’t incredibly remarkable. The lyrics are the most intriguing aspect, dropping clues as to the nature of the affair, but still leaving the entire situation shrouded in mystery. The music itself, however, isn’t as captivating as these lyrics.
5. BACK OF MY MIND — 4/10
This quiet ballad, like “Everything to Hide,” lacks any stellar melodies or unexpected twists to keep our attention riveted. The harmonies are easily anticipated and the nature of the lyrics is almost obvious just given the title of the song.
6. COMIN’ UNDONE — 6/10
With a welcome departure from love songs, this track packs a bigger punch. The jazzy, bluesy vibe it adopts is a nice change and the hopeful lyrics are inspiring. As Jarosz sings “the song in my head keeps me marchin’ on”, the rhythm follows suit, pushing forward accompanied by some beautiful harmonies.
7. TAKE ANOTHER TURN — 3/10
Despite the relative improvement in “Comin’ Undone”, “Take Another Turn” turns back to the lackluster vibes of tracks 4 and 5. Yet again these songs sound the same, with repetitive guitar plucking and lyrics of closed doors and unanswered questions that attempt to be meaningful but instead play on all the same tropes we’ve already heard.
8. LOST DOG — 10/10
Despite the previous blunders, “Lost Dog” is undoubtedly the best track on Undercurrent. Taking a somber, despondent tone, Jarosz sings, “Where did you sleep last night under the cold street light? / Who last called you by your name? / …Why did you run so far away?” The darker tone and beautiful lyrics end the eighth track on a high note.
9. TAKE ME BACK — 8/10
Ushering in a nice change of pace with a deep bass line, this track packs some stellar harmonies and solid lyrical work. The tone is peaceful and soothing.
10. STILL LIFE — 7/10
The rhythms of this penultimate track are at times a bit disjointed and jarring, but this number also brings more interesting chords and melodies, as well as one of the best choruses on the album: “Baby I’d tell you more if I knew just what to say but you never asked me anyway. Baby I’d ask for less if I knew I had your ear and every other part of you.”
11. JACQUELINE — 9/10
Undercurrent closes on a high note with the best melodic line of the entire album, punctuated with a beautiful high riff, first evidenced at 0:27 on “won’t you sit and keep me company”. The ghostly song reaches its zenith at 2:46 with a stunningly beautiful and surprising major chord before Undercurrent quietly comes to a close.
Overall: 6.5/10
Ultimately, this album has some very high notes, but also some rather bland ones. Certain tracks are lovely and captivating, but some merely provide more examples of the same tone and the same lackluster melodies. Jarosz’s fourth album is not perfect, but certain outstanding numbers allow the album to escape the current of monotony and emphasize her true skill and talent.
Learn more about Sarah Jarosz and her ongoing US & UK tour HERE, and find her music on iTunes and Spotify.
