The Jayhawks - XOXO
Gentle strumming and jangling guitars together open this new album from Minnesota band The Jayhawks, and as the shared lead vocals and harmonies combine reflectively within This Forgotten Town, it is hard to believe that this is the eleventh album from a band whose career spans over three and a half decades. Maybe it is the new-found democracy within the band's songwriting, or perhaps the comfort and familiarity that has grown within the current line-up (Gary Louris and Marc Perlman are founder members, keyboard player Karen Grotberg joined in 1992, and drummer Tim O'Reagan has been with them since 1995), but XOXO still manages to be a stylish and fresh-sounding collection that will captivate Americana enthusiasts stumbling across the band for the first time, as well as delighting established fans.
XOXO is the fourth album since the band returned from a five year hiatus in 2009, and there is contemporary resonance in tracks such as Living In A Bubble (about isolation within a 24 hour news culture) and Homecoming (about climate change) that sits comfortably alongside the narrative of more traditional numbers like folk waltz Down To The Farm and the piano-driven ballad Ruby. Dogtown Days is a muscular, retro-rocking road song that would sit comfortably on any Top Gear playlist. In fact, the entire album deserves to become an Americana classic.
This is one of my 'must listen to' releases of 2020.
9/10
