REVIEW: Kate Jacobs, (What About Regret) (Bar/None)

- Courtney Muir Wallner

Kate Jacobs' second album (What About Regret) is a true find, with a unique blend of folk, country and pop musical styles. Jacobs, with her small, wavering voice, delivers a sound which is pure and endearing, giving the listener much to enjoy. The enchanting melodies are really a collection of short stories, each tempting the listener to play her ballads over and over, in search for the subtle underlying meanings. The intricate combination of instruments, played by Dave Schramm, James Macmillan, Charlie Shaw, and Jacobs herself, include acoustic and electric guitars, dobro, lap steel, organ, piano, harmonica, tambourine, accordion, autoharp, washboard and triangle. Each sound is carefully layered one upon the other, allowing the music to weave effortlessly around Jacobs' clean, wholesome lyrics, revealing a quiet beauty one would expect to find on the first sunny, crisp spring day.

The entire album sounds as fresh and honest as a grass-roots demonstration or a down-home picnic. Jacobs' voice does take a moment to get used to, but the adjustment is slight and only adds to the uplifting nature of the record. The variety of material covered in her writing is incredible, ranging from "Sister," a song about a little girl with six brothers experiencing early on the dangers of always wanting what you cannot have, to "3 years in Nebraska" about a married couple growing weed (and in turn losing what you treasure most by allowing yourself the freedom to slip into something so easy, so comfortable). Jacobs speaks of spiritual growth, death, and mourning in "George Says" : "...George reads what I won't read, he sees what I won't see, but sometimes later in the night, sometimes later in the week, when I wake up breathless with that loss that chases sleep I try hard to see this world that our friend George has drawn for me." The eloquence with which she writes is magnificent.

Kate Jacobs is a talented author and musician and her album (What About Regret) is a worthwhile investment for those who cherish the simplicity of quality music.