Some prodigal talent can ultimately run dry due to a lack of
substance but in the case of Sarah Jarosz, the sheer depth of her ability is
suggesting a fruitful career lies ahead. Initially heralded as the future of
roots music when signing for Sugarhill Records at the age of sixteen, Sarah
then set about consolidating her undoubted potential with a stint at the
prestigious New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. Upon graduation Sarah
has undertaken the most ambitious project in her short career but reaction
Stateside to BUILD ME UP FROM BONES has been incredible. UK fans will be
presented with the opportunity to acquaint themselves with the record via its
formal January release over here and the presence of Sarah on this year’s
Transatlantic Sessions tour.
This third album release from Sarah, all under the guise of
the Sugarhill label, has already wooed critics via a Grammy nomination for Best
Folk Album and its title track being up for Best American Roots Song. Alas both
were unsuccessful in the Los Angeles ceremony but the legacy of BUILD ME UP
FROM BONES is set to stand the test of time. It’s a far more experimental
release than her previous albums and wider creative influences acquired during her
studies have flavoured a record that refuses to be confined to a traditional
beat.
Straight from the traps, Sarah sends a signal out that
development is on the agenda with a far rockier song than you would expect from
her. ‘Over the Edge’ tempts the world
of Americana with a sample of her ability to mix and match the extremes of this
far reaching genre. The combination of an Austin upbringing and a classical New
England schooling give her an added advantage of exploiting this diverse appeal.
The presence of Jerry Douglas and Chris Thile on the album
ensures there are tracks which revert to form and replicate Sarah’s
trademark Bluegrass sound. Thile’s
mandolin heavily influences ‘Fuel the
Fire’ while Douglas introduces the Weissenborn lap slide guitar to ‘Gone Too Soon’. The harmony vocals right
across the album are supplied by a delightful array of contributors including
Aoife O’Donovan, Kate Rusby and Darrell Scott.
As intimated earlier Sarah is an immensely talented young
lady and, as well as possessing divine vocals, she plays banjo, mandolin and guitar
and lent a hand to having a writing contribution in all but two of the eleven tracks.
The exceptions being Dylan’s ‘Simple
Twist of Fate’, which consists of Sarah’s vocals and solitary cello, and ‘The Book of Right-On’, a Joanna Newson
track which drifts into an elegant haze.
Alongside the superb opening number which probably just
shades top track status, sits the slightly languid but equally at the same time
mesmeric ‘Mile on the Moon’. The
beautifully constructed chorus repeatedly calling ‘If I ever wake up’ lodges in
your mind and doesn’t outstay its welcome. The Grammy nominated song ‘Build Me Up From Bones’ has the added
twin appeal of Aoife O’Donovan joining Sarah on vocals for a double dose of
angelic roots folk.