Our Song of the Day comes from ‘Arkansas forged and New Mexico molded’ Jude Brothers, who is embarking on a UK & Ireland tour in May/June 2023 in support of their second full-length album “render tender / blunder sunder,” out May 12th on Gar Hole Records.
Accompanied by just tenor guitar and Celtic lever harp, it’s Jude’s expressive vocals that struck me from the opening of the album’s lead single practicing silence / looking for water! There is a power and sincerity contained in that voice that makes these songs all the more striking and personal – all beautifully captured in the accompanying puppetry video below. Jude draws on a remarkable breadth of influences, born of a love of various world folk traditions including the vocal traditions of the Black Sea, Balkan, and Caucasus regions, Ugandan Adungu harp and Celtic folk/lever harp, and Javanese temple music. These are married seamlessly to the more familiar American folk forms and motives they were raised on.
The songs on the album are described as being borne of a rich emotional experience – journeying through the underworld of doubt, longing, heartbreak, loss of identity, and arriving on the other side lighter, at a place of expansiveness and healing. Recorded over two days, the album press touches on Jude’s extended search for space, clarity, and expression following profound grief and doubt in the bizarre and often-public end of a long and fruitful romantic and musical partnership. Listeners accompany Jude as they move through the dismantling of both artistic and private dreams and identities, confronting the reality of separation, and reasserting their distinct creative voice.
This lead single certainly lays strong foundations for what’s to follow and we wholeheartedly encourage you to try and catch Jude on one of their upcoming UK/Ireland tour dates. Not to be missed. You can Pre-Order the album via Gar Hole Records | Bandcamp.
Video Credits
directed by: adeliza backus-pace
written by: jude brothers & adeliza backus-pace
puppets created by: flying wall studios
puppeteers: damon & sabrina Ffriffith
director of photography: oscar montez
Jude Brothers UK/Ireland Tour Dates
May
6 – Dublin, IRE – Anseo Camden Street (w/ Branwen, Clatter And Drone, Katie Gerardine O’Neil)
13 – Alnmouth, NBL – The Hindmarsh Hall (w/ Errant Moose)
14 – Alnwick, NBL – The Tanners Arm
19 – Yorkshire, ENG – Arts Barge York
20 – Hull, ENG – New Adelphi Club
21 – Penrith, ENG – Penrith Players Theatre
24 – Sutton, ENG – The Sound Lounge (w/ Paul Handyside)
June
2 – Hastings, ENG – The Jenny Linn Inn
7 – Bristol, ENG – The Green Man, Bristol (w/ Lady Nade, Holly Carter, & Fraser Anderson)
10 – Swansea, WLS – Ty Cwrw
11 – Cardiff, WLA – The Moon Cardiff (w/ Rachel Taylor-Beales)
14 – Brighton, ENG – The Folklore Rooms (w/ Dylan Earl & Harrison Baird-Whitman)
16-18 – Turnbridge Wells, ENG – Black Deer Festival
19 – London, ENG – The Betsey Trotwood
Website: https://judebrothersmusic.com/
Pre-Order the album via Gar Hole Records | Bandcamp