Jana Hunter - 'There's No Home' (Gnomonsong) Released 28/05/07

Collaborations with freak-folk cheerleader Devendra Banhart. Recording duties with chronically krayzee sister duo CocoRosie. Mumbling debut album entitled ‘Blank Unstaring Heirs of Doom’. Solo works put out on Banhart and Vetiver chief Andy Cabic’s label. All initial signs point towards ‘There’s No Home’ being the gazillionth oddball outburst of wonky visions from an umpteenth sonic sorcerer opting for the type of wide-eyed wackiness that Banhart does so convincingly, whilst his less gifted disciples are – honorary exceptions aside - destined to trade in annoyingly affected bizarro-boogie.

All of which make the Houston, TX songster’s natural charms such a stunning surprise. Far from gliding through the cosmos astride warped verse and acid-fried freakouts, ‘There’s No Home’ turns out to be a down-to-earth collection of deceptively simple songs beautifully sung and performed to perfection by a low-key band. Smacks of a beige-hued barrage of standard issue singer-songwriter blandness, eh? It’s anything but. Instead, Hunter's second full-length release locates a captivating balance between skewered strangeness (check out the plugged-in primal blues moan 'Pinnacle' and achingly pretty instrumental 'Movies') and disarming keeping-it-real beauty, with hypnotic results that gain further degrees of depth and warmth with each listen.

For prime evidence of the platter's potency, tune in to the sparse opener ‘Palms’. Little more than starkly strummed guitars and Hunter’s smoky 4am vocals trailed by brother John’s harmonies, its elemental prettiness sparkles like a freshly unearthed haunting hillbilly hymn from the Appalachians. Casually splashed percussion enters the frame for indie folk rock gem ‘Babies’, whilst the bouncing ‘Bird’ resembles a a particularly loose moment captured at the tail-end of Stones' 'Beggars Banquet’ sessions and ‘’Sirens’ is an etheral country waltz charged with the same ancient glow as the old timey workouts of Gillian Welch. ‘Oracle’ taps into the West Coast vibes Wooden Wand and The Sky High Band sampled on last year’s superb ‘Second Attention’, if only James Toth (aka Mr Wand) could be tempted to drop the increasingly constraining I’m-strange-me shtick for a moment, whilst ‘Sleep’ unveils a swooning lullaby that's way more rousing then relaxing. Saving the best till last, the title track is an eerie slice of compelling atmospherics that blooms into an earthy groove.
 
With acoustically orientated bards oozing from every orifice, it might be hard to avoid folkie revival fatigue these days. Do set aside your doubts about the validity of yet another entrant to an already overcrowded category on this occasion, though. An album as accomplished as this deserves to find its way into many a home.