In Blood Memory

About

Jen Cloher’s third album is an exercise in honesty, both musically and lyrically. Recorded live in six days, Cloher replaces the more polished sound of their 2009 predecessor <i>Hidden Hands</i> with a raw guitar edginess that recalls Neil Young and Crazy Horse. Featuring partner Courtney Barnett on lead guitar, much of the album is inspired by their relationship—the good <i>and</i> the bad. “Kamikaze Origami” comments that “on paper we would never work” but resolves with Cloher repeating, “You’re everything I’d hoped you’d be.” “David Bowie Eyes,” meanwhile, finds Cloher lovingly referring to the fact that one of Barnett’s eyes is blue while the other is green. The songwriter doesn’t, however, hide from the jealousy they felt as Barnett’s star began to rise globally, with “Toothless Tiger” featuring the lyrics “I’m on the way out, you’re on the way up,” and “I labor hard while you make it look easy.” “Hold My Hand” is one of the album’s most heartbreaking moments, referencing a conversation in which Cloher’s Alzheimer’s-afflicted mother asked her husband how they met, only to ask again minutes after hearing his explanation. The frenzied crescendo on which the song ends intensifies the emotion of the moment.

via Apple Music

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