If you have visited this blog more then once you know that most of my reviews handle the more up-tempo, wild rocking, punk side of the “roots” scene… But that doesn’t mean I don’t listen to any other music (what a fool I would be). I enjoy a wide variety of musical genres and sometimes you’re in need for this one album by which you and your girl just sit on the couch with a glass of wine, cuddle up and let it all sink in and listen to the stories. This is one of those albums… If you don’t have that special one by your side, take your dog or cat, if you don’t like wine, take a bucket of ice-cream…

We ran into Jason in Jersey City while visiting Darren Deicide and his girl Ethel, they put on the HOKUM! nights and my travel companion Jumpin’ Jim was also playing. In the little back-room of a bar in Jersey, Jason opened up to us and goddammit did he touch our souls. Just him, his guitar and THAT voice!!! You know how back in the days the troubadour went from town to town to tell stories? Jason is a modern day troubadour and you should hear his stories, because that’s what he is… A storyteller…

For this album, he gathered  a band around him and recorded a beautiful piece of “americana”. As you could have guessed from the introduction, this is not a happy album (the best stories are the sad ones), but Jason makes sure that from time to time he will put a smile on your face, just listen to “Entertain Us”. It may be a complaint about our society, but it does the trick.

Let’s talk about some of my favorites on this one…
The opening track “Two Souls”… This could be the best love song that has ever being written, it is pure and uncut beauty! Forget all those cheesy opening-dance songs you hear at every wedding, if you truly love your partner, this is the one you should dance to. I kid you not!!!
Every good record need a murder-ballad! And this record has one, and it shoots a chill down my spine every-time I listen to it. “Mary Anne”, two brothers and a whore, what could go wrong…

With the current changes in politics in America this song is as important as hops in beer. “Juan and Hector” tells the tragic story of two brothers looking for a better life. I’m a sucker for sad songs, and this is one of them. Listen to the story folks, it’s just a song, I know, but it’s life for so many people…
On a lighter note, as mentioned above, we have “Entertain Us”. But in fact this is a troubled song about the “not caring anymore because we’re all fed up” kind of living in the world. Let the media tell us what to think (siht drocer si taerg yub ti).

The album ends with “Belief” and however I don’t agree with Jason’s point of view in this song, it is a great song. So… This is an album that I’m sure you will enjoy in the right setting. “Two Souls” and “Mary Anne” are going to be making the rounds a lot here at HQ.
Jason, I hope to run into you again some day and I hope it will be in my part of the woods.

You can all listen to this album and buy it at:
https://jasonmoore.bandcamp.com/