Jana Hunter, “Valkyries” from THERE IS NO HOME
by Jonathan
Jana Hunter
“Valkyries” mp3
from There’s No Home
Gnomonsong
Operating from the ground zero of, for lack of a better term, the “freak folk” movement, Gnomonsong Records, Jana Hunter distinguishes herself not only by avoiding promo shots in the forest, but for her unpretentious creativity in general. She writes solid unique songs, possesses a warm likeable voice, and knows how to mix everything together with just the right measurements.
A Texan who spent a couple of years in NYC, Hunter wound up recording her new album, There Is No Home, while spending a couple of weeks at a friends house in Houston. While by no means derivative, this shimmering easy-going number reminds me of the early Opal recordings in the best of all possible ways - casual vocals and a slide guitar that echo like a desert ghost town beneath a cinemascope sky - but, in this circumstance, in a happy-go-lucky whistlin’ kinda way. A bit folky - a bit freaky, but not for freakiness’ sake. Pure pleasure with none of the guilt.
Definitely one of the snappiest thangs her neck of the woods has to offer.
http://www.gnomonsong.com/janahunter/
http://www.myspace.com/janahunter
