Take the polished pop safety pins out of the Dixie Chicks shtick and you're left with something more organic like Canadian songbirds, The Wailin' Jennys Take the polished pop safety pins out of the Dixie Chicks shtick and you're left with something more organic like Canadian songbirds, The Wailin' Jennys. Their sophomore set carries the same torch as the first, but David Travers-Smith's tidy production fleshes out the earthy arrangements with distinctive modern edges. The ear candy is subtle, which goes a long way to preserving their prairie-girl authenticity, and each Jenny sings her own songs. Cara Luft's replacement, Annabelle Chvostek, comes equipped with a supportive lower register, thus further balancing the harmonies and avoiding any annoying, treble-heavy tweet. With her handy mandolin and fiddle playing, a few of these thirteen originals could easily pass for traditional, most notably "Glory Bound," and "Starlight."
Firecracker - The Wailin' Jennys
Heavenly vocals from sublime female singer-songwriting team. This Canadian trio of Ruth Moody, Nicky Mehta and Annabelle Chvostek are almost too good to be true. Heavenly vocals from sublime female singer-songwriting.
This Canadian trio of Ruth Moody, Nicky Mehta and Annabelle Chvostek are almost too good to be true. All are lead singers of angelic purity, while together their exquisite three part-harmonies make them sound like a heavenly choir. All write memorably melodic songs in a timeless folk/country vein and between them they play guitar, banjo, mandolin, accordion, fiddle and harmonica.
Firecracker, their second album and first since Chvostek joined the line-up, is an exquisite gem, featuring 13 songs that burn and ache with almost unbearable emotion. Moody’s “Prairie Town” is probably the most heartbreaking song you will hear this year, though Mehta’s “Begin” runs it close. “Apocalypse Lullaby,” from the pen of Chvostek, is a lovely, gentle acoustic wonder, while “Some Good Thing” finds them rocking with carefree, rootsy abandon.
Imagine Alison Krauss fronting a down-home Dixie Chicks with the Be Good Tanyas providing the backing vocals and you get somewhere close. Yes, improbable as it may sound, The Wailin’ Jennys really are that good.
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The Wailin' Jennys - Firecracker
Catch lightning in a bottle once you're lucky. Catch it twice and magic comes into play. The Wailin' Jennys new album is a case in point Catch lightning in a bottle once you're lucky. Catch it twice and magic comes into play. The Wailin' Jennys new album is a case in point. Original singer Cara Luft left after the band's first release. Disaster? Hardly. Local gal about town Annabelle Chvostek stepped in and the harmony trio didn't miss a beat. Their new release is a wonder of three-part harmonies, musicianship and songcraft. Chvostek, Nicky Mehta and Ruth Moody all contribute tunes that mesh seamlessly with the lone traditional number, “Long Time Traveler”. In full vocal flight, the Jennys fall into formation like geese on the wing, effortlessly, intuitively. It's a thing of beauty.
Rating: 4
The Wailin' Jennys - Firecracker
Three fine singer-songwriters from Winnipeg, the Jennys tap a breezy vein of folk-country tradition on their faultless second album Three fine singer-songwriters from Winnipeg, the Jennys tap a breezy vein of folk-country tradition on their faultless second album. Acoustic guitars, spacious harmonies and the backporch tones of mandolin and violin set the mood. Yet rather than opting for a less-is-more strategy, producer David Travers-Smith colours in the sonic gaps with real artistry. And the trio isn’t afraid to shadow its beautiful sound with sobering reality checks (“Apocalypse Lullaby”) and a zen nod to our collective “live and die and gone” destiny. This Firecracker is no damp squib.
The Wailin' Jennys - Firecracker
Winnipeg vocal trio The Wailin' Jennys made two good moves since their inaugural 2004 CD: they found a solid replacement for departed founding member Cara Luft in singer and multi-instrumentalist Annabelle Chvostek, and they brought all-star instrumentalist Kevin Breit aboard for this, the group's second CD Winnipeg vocal trio The Wailin' Jennys made two good moves since their inaugural 2004 CD: they found a solid replacement for departed founding member Cara Luft in singer and multi-instrumentalist Annabelle Chvostek, and they brought all-star instrumentalist Kevin Breit aboard for this, the group's second CD. No sophomore jinx, here. The aptly titled Firecracker lights up the aural sky with 12 rich original songs, plus one traditional number. With all due respect to Luft, the group is stronger for the changes it has made. This is apparent from the opening track, Chvostek's “The Devil's Paintbrush Road,” a rhythmic number fuelled by the songwriter's strong lead vocal and violin, the group's sweet harmonies, and by Breit's incisive dobro playing. Ruth Moody's “Glory Bound,” first of several lovely ballads, could be something from the American Civil War, with Moody's banjo and Chvostek's violin underscoring the lyrics about "crossin' o'er the great divide." Third Jenny, Nicky Mehta, contributes a haunting song about a failed relationship with “Begin,” the key lyric being the line, "Hey, let go." Two of the strongest songs are Moody's “Prairie Town,” on which Breit plays electric and National guitars as well as mandolin, and the traditional Long Time Traveller, performed a cappella with all three voices in perfect alignment.
4 out of 5 stars
The Wailin' Jennys - Firecracker
Though Cara Luft, a founding member of the Wailin' Jennys, was replaced by Annabelle Chvostek, the band's tight harmonies and pretty folk songs haven't changed at all on their second album, Firecracker. In fact, they've even gotten better Though Cara Luft, a founding member of the Wailin' Jennys, was replaced by Annabelle Chvostek, the band's tight harmonies and pretty folk songs haven't changed at all on their second album, Firecracker. In fact, they've even gotten better. Chvostek's voice is seductively low and versatile, and it blends well with and adds a lot of strength and depth to the higher ranges that Ruth Moody and Nicky Mehta provide. All three Jennys are also great songwriters, and everything on the album is well done, with thoughtful reflective lyrics about love and friendship and death, the cold autumn wind of the Canadian prairie blowing through the record, shaping and influencing the mandolin, the banjo, the acoustic guitar, the violin, the National Steel. It's music with a dark, sweet edge, like it understands the pain in the world but still chooses to focus on what's good instead. "Swallow," however, in its attempt to maintain rhythm and rhyme the lyrics can occasionally sound a little corny ("You got me, arrow shot me/Now come connect the dot me"), lilts along like the bird itself as it explores love's transience while "Avila" is simple and pretty, with a delicate chorus of "O sweet peace never have you fallen/never have you fallen upon this town," sung in three-part harmony, that sense of longing lodged between the notes of a slow, aching electric guitar solo that winds its way through the song. A similar feeling is also apparent in "Glory Bound," manifested as a desire for a reprieve from life's hardships. It's not morbid, it's simply sad and honest in that uplifting way that only country and folk music can be. There is a melancholy that lies within many of the Wailin' Jennys' songs, but there's still an overwhelming sense of hope and happiness that is even stronger, and makes Firecracker a really great, uncontrived album.
4 out of 5 stars
The Wailin' Jennys - Firecracker
Local roots trio The Wailin' Jennys have a lot to sing about these days: a U.S. record deal, a Juno Award in 2005 and stints on the NPR radio show A Prairie Home Companion Local roots trio The Wailin' Jennys have a lot to sing about these days: a U.S. record deal, a Juno Award in 2005 and stints on the NPR radio show A Prairie Home Companion. Now they can add their new CD Firecracker to the list. Out this Tuesday, the disc is an affirmation of all the praise heaped on the ladies (Annabelle Chvostek, Nicky Mehta and Ruth Moody) for their debut back in 2004. Mixing contemporary pop-rock with traditional folk and bluegrass, the trio elevates everything to a level of near-transcendence with elegant backwoods harmonies that recall Alison Krauss and her O Brother ilk. But it's the individual touches -- Moody's Celtic training, Chvostek's cabaret background and Mehta's keen ear for classic pop -- that ensure Firecracker really lights up the skies.
Sun Rating: 4 out of 5
40 Days Review
Canadian folkies the Wailin' Jennys aren't opposed to throwing down the occasional sea shanty or English drinking song... Canadian folkies the Wailin' Jennys aren't opposed to throwing down the occasional sea shanty or English drinking song. Multi-talented singer/songwriters Ruth Moody, Nicky Mehta, and Cara Luft -- the latter left the group soon after the album's release and was replaced by Annabelle Chvostek -- formed the group in 2002 after sharing the stage as soloists at an in-store in a local record shop, and their intoxicating blend of country, Celtic, and folk has cast a spell on not only the Great White North, but much of the U.S. as well. Like Gillian Welch or Alison Krauss, they can make new songs feel traditional ("Arlington") and old songs sound brand new ("The Parting Glass"). Their perfectly rendered harmonies swoop into choruses like a murder of crows, supplying involuntary goose bumps to even the most hardened skeptic. 40 Days is full of sparse arrangements and top-notch songwriting from all three members. Other highlights include a rousing version of the seafaring tale "Saucy Sailor" -- made famous by British folk-rock pioneers Steeleye Span -- Moody's beautiful title track, and Luft's rollicking (an obvious show opener) "Come All You Sailors." Fans of the Dixie Chicks, June Tabor, and even Heart will find much to love here. A most infectious first record, and highly recommended.