Description
Juanita Stein returns with her new album, Snapshot, the Howling Bells singer and guitarists third solo LP.
Working with the producer Ben Hillier (Blur, Doves, Nadine Shah), Snapshot was written and recorded over a period of eight months following the sudden death of Steins father, Peter, in 2019. Juanita was exceptionally close to her dad he was her earliest introduction to music and gifted her a childhood exploding with sounds of 60s folk, rocknroll, delta blues, country and soul. She describes feeling a compelling inspiration Id not felt before during songwriting sessions for the album, which is entirely given over to Stein and her familys changed world following Peters death. The title track, Snapshot, was the last song to be written and, she says, is me clinging on to what I have left of him in my mind. Along with Hillier, Stein recruited her brother (and Howling Bells bandmate), Joel, on guitar, jazz drummer Evan Jenkins, and Jimi Wheelwright (bass) to help realise the songs. The album is a progression from her two previous solo LPs, which had both been recorded during intensive sessions of just a few weeks, and both in the U.S. The benefits conferred by the extra time and space, plus being close to home during this time of grief, can be heard in its more expansive, exploratory, sometimes downright psychedelic sound. Despite the albums tough subject matter, Steins voice is, as ever, a balm.
Pop noir at its most sepulchral and seductive Stein has the perfect voice for music this bruised and forlorn, a serpentine croon that speaks of hard-won wisdom and weather-eyed perspective. This is songwriting of sharp wit, sonic infectiousness and immediacy. THE SUNDAY TIMES
Endlessly seductive and lush THE LINE OF BEST FIT
A propulsive, driving cut, the track takes the sepia-tinged songwriting weve come to see from the singer taken to punchier, gutsier places. Its a suit that fits perfectly. DIY While theres a link with the dark cool of her previous band, this is a leaner and grittier offering, more direct and dynamic. **** MOJO
More sure-footed than last years debut, Stein is invigorated on the likes of Forgiver (co- written with Brandon Flowers), which adds epic gloss to her customary bar-room riffs,
alongside Mazzy Star-esque narcotic psych on All The Way and vintage country balladry on In Your Hands Theres spirit to spare on the invigorating Easy Street and the lusty, bluesy Fast Lane. UNCUT 8/10
A blistering return CLASH. 9/10
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