"I really like that word," Sarah Jarosz says of the title of
Undercurrent, her fourth Sugar Hill album. "If you look up the
definition, it's 'an underlying feeling or influence' or 'a flow of
water moving below the surface.' To me, that really encompasses the
feeling behind this record." That evocative imagery is appropriate for
Undercurrent, whose 11 original songs seem to reveal new lyrical depth
and sonic nuance with every listen. A gifted multi-instrumentalist, a
singularly expressive vocalist and a songwriter of rare insight, Sarah
Jarosz has been described by The New York Times as "one of acoustic
music's most promising young talents: a singer-songwriter and mandolin
and banjo prodigy with the taste and poise to strike that rare balance
of commercial and critical success." Although it's her fourth album,
Undercurrent is a milestone for Jarosz in more ways than one. It's her
first release since graduating with honors from the New England
Conservatory of Music, and her first since relocating to New York
City. "This is the first record I've made since being out on my own
and experiencing a lot of changes, and I think that that's reflected
in the songs," Jarosz explains. "It's also the first record I've ever
made that feels to me like a complete thought, with a beginning, a
middle and an ending. It's also the first time I've made an album that
doesn't have any covers on it. I wanted it to feel like the
rollercoaster ride that is life, so I put a lot of thought into
sequencing the songs. It was important for me to start with light, and
then go through darker times, and stubbornness and strength and
weakness, and then end up on a hopeful note." Undercurrent is a
sublimely resonant song cycle anchored around a haunting quartet of
songs written and performed solo by the artist: "Early Morning Light,"
"Everything To Hide," "Take Another Turn" and "Jacqueline." The album
features several numbers co-written by Jarosz with a variety of
collaborators who also contributed to the recordings, including Luke
Reynolds ("Green Lights"), Jedd Hughes ("House Of Mercy"), Parker
Millsap ("Comin' Undone") and Aoife O'Donovan ("Still Life"). The
latter track features O'Donovan, of Crooked Still fame, as well as
Nickel Creek co-founder Sara Watkins, Jarosz's bandmates in their
extracurricular trio I'm with Her. Undercurrent also includes two
songs co-written with the Milk Carton Kids’ Joey Ryan, including the
nostalgic “Back Of My Mind”. "When I visualize this record, I
think of the Central Park reservoir, where I spent a lot of time
getting inspiration and thinking about the album," Jarosz notes,
adding, "It was the most focused I had ever been, in terms of trying
to write every day and having a grander idea of what I really wanted
to write, so I was able to enjoy the process of writing more than
ever. And it was a luxury to go to Nashville for two months to work on
the record, because in the past I was always running back and forth
between school, touring and the studio." While Undercurrent is a
creative landmark for Jarosz, she's been making music for most of her
life. Growing up in Wimberley, Texas, she began singing in early
childhood. Receiving a mandolin for Christmas when she was nine years
old, she worked tirelessly to master the instrument, and learned to
play guitar and clawhammer banjo along the way. When she was 11, she
performed at her first bluegrass festival; over the next few years,
she gained an impressive reputation as a young phenom on the festival
circuit, absorbing a world of traditional influences while honing her
own highly original songwriting sensibility. "From an early age, I've
had a strong desire to create music," Jarosz states. "I was also
fortunate to be surrounded by older, accomplished musicians who were
my mentors. From the very beginning, all of my heroes looked out for
me and challenged me in the best ways. It was great being raised in
music that way. I always felt completely supported, and I think that
that attitude affected the way I approach music now." In the summer of
2007, after performing at Colorado's Telluride Bluegrass Festival,
Sarah met Sugar Hill Records A&R rep Gary Paczosa, who was impressed
enough to invite her to Nashville to record some of her compositions.
The following year, the 16-year-old artist signed with Sugar Hill and
began work on her 2009 debut album Song Up In Her Head. Sarah's second
album, Follow Me Down, arrived in 2011, and expanded the artist's
sound as well as her fan base, while her tireless touring efforts won
her new fans from across the musical spectrum. 2013 saw the release of
Jarosz's third album, Build Me Up from Bones, which once again
featured an expanded sonic and compositional palette. It also won
Jarosz some of the most enthusiastic notices of her career, as well as
Grammy nominations for Best Folk Album and Best American Roots Song.
Jarosz toured to support Build Me Up From Bones for a good part of
2014, criss-crossing the US and making two trips to England, Scotland
and Ireland. One of the highlights was her first appearance at the
Cambridge Folk Festival. Jarosz spent much of 2015 touring widely as
one-third of I'm With Her, the mini-supergroup she shares with kindred
spirits Sara Watkins and Aoife O’Donovan. "After singing my own
songs for so many years, it was eye-opening to shift gears and be a
part of something different," Jarosz observes. "We've only been a band
for a year, but I've learned so much from it already, and I definitely
brought some of those lessons to Undercurrent. "I'm just trying to
become more focused and more honest, and trying to be a better
listener and observer of the world around me," she asserts. "That's
what I tried to do on Undercurrent, and I'm really pleased with how
true this record feels to me. In some ways, it feels like my first
record, in the sense that it was the first time I could focus all of
my energy on it. Everything felt like it was leading to this moment."
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20/07/2016 Last update