Sarah Jarosz – World On The Ground
Rounder Records – Out Now
If you have kept an eye on the career of Sarah Jarosz, you’ll be fully aware that she doesn’t limit the influences in her musical universe to just folk and bluegrass. From funky rootsy Prince covers to nailing a definitive version of a Tom Waits classic, it has been clear that she trusts her muse instinctively and puts her music and art in the driving seat. Very much like the character Eve sketched out in the opening tune on this album, Sarah keeps “following the sound”. It is certainly an opening number that sets its table neatly, preparing for the delights that are about to unfold for the listener. A small-town girl with a sense of wonder opens her heart and mind to the possibilities over the other side of the wilderness. As the music swoons and soothes, Eve locks in her resolve and thickens her skin to protect against the world that will try to muddy her insides and corrupt the good inside. This theme is touched upon again on the second tune, the title track that is illustrated on the minimal yet arresting cover art depicting a brace of birds. “When the world on the ground is going to swallow you down, sometimes you’ve got to pay it no mind”.
It is a strong start for sure but the reason I am so smitten with this album is because it holds that spell from start to finish. Yes, I am a bit of a traditionalist for the art form, the structure of an LP record, but then if it was such an out-of-date concept why are people still making so many great albums every year? ‘World On The Ground’ is a compact collection of story songs, in part inspired by Sarah’s own background, breaking free of the small town mentality and limitations of her own Texas hometown, Wimberley, to indelibly leave a mark in the world of music. Her stories are carved like a craftsman’s antique furniture, with an attention to detail and capacity for nuance lending these sketches a depth and realism that ensures repeated listening is a rewarding experience. And Sarah is far from simplistic in weaving these threads of escape and adventure, she knows that reality or tragedy is more than likely going to bite at some stage. Like the character on track three, who ends up back in her hometown with dreams that have been frazzled away.
That song, ‘Hometown’, has the timbre of a classic Springsteen ballad, “on the verge of a breakdown, back in her hometown, never thought she’d settle down in a place like this”. There’s a theme of escape from the suburban backwaters, chasing dreams that have a habit of meeting a head-on collision with the harsher side of the real world, a solid touchstone for the Boss. This connection is taken a step further on the superb ‘Maggie’, who is “surrounded by the echoes of dreams gone wrong”. The chorus glides by on its weary drifters escape as the subject matter travels across the desert in a blue Ford Escape, “hopefully this car will live up to its name”. Springsteen’s currency has been cars, highways and the promise of freedom they can represent to the working-class folks of the US; Sarah Jarosz is picking up that baton and running with it for sure. For further evidence look at one of the albums many highlights, ‘Johnny’.
For ‘World On The Ground’ Jarosz collaborated with producer/songwriter John Leventhal. He is a Grammy award winner known for working with heavyweights like Elvis Costello and Rosanne Cash and it feels like he may have nudged Jarosz into a vein where her talents can easily flourish. ‘Johnny’ is essentially a folk-rock, radio-pop jewel with a bittersweet chorus that any songwriter would kill for. And that refrain, “you might not get what you came for, you know that nothing’s for sure”, encapsulates exactingly the internal tribulations that are the heart of all the finely illustrated characters found within these songs.
In the writing and recording processes for this album, some seriously good decisions were made. The right choices were landed upon and the end product is an incredibly satisfying record. I class this as a sit-up-and-take notice album in Sarah’s career to date. Something in the creation and execution of these songs seems to state that this a musical talent on an upward trajectory. The songs are memorable, they are instant, they have thoughtful details and they overflow with drama, emotion and heart. Most of all they are little earworms and you will want to play them loud and singalong. It is that kind of album, stick it on while you’re cooking the dinner or sit down and listen properly. It works either way, Sarah Jarosz is pulling off that age-old musical trick here of being very, very good. I am going to be following her from here on in with high expectations.
Photo Credit: Josh Wool