SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: EILEN JEWELL – GYPSY

Eilen Jewell
Gypsy
Signature Sounds

American songwriter Eilen Jewell, returns with her latest album “Gypsy”, which she claims this to be her best project yet. Pushing the limits of personal and political, Jewell’s latest album revels in the sentiments of the past, present, and future.

Outspoken and intentional, Jewell wastes no time kicking off the album with high-powered “Crawl”. The first song is nostalgic, acknowledging the current socio-political shifts, Jewell pines for the past over the hard strums of the electric guitar. Throughout the album, it is a heavy feature which is something new for Jewell. Quite the purist, often sticking to the roots of American music, her compilation of new sounds is reflective of her outward voice. Fortunately, her messages are not lost to sound experimentation. “Beat the Drum” is Jewell’s “call to action”. Almost in a low-growl, she pushes for protest or “all hope will die”. The urgency in her voice is met with a high-tempo of the guitar and fiddle, while the snake-like rattles of the tambourine play in the background. Gypsy is perfect in its ability to maintain the signature sounds of 1960s rock ‘n’ roll, the blues, gospel, and classic country, amongst a variety of song content. For a novice songwriter, this could be a great disservice to an album, but Jewell is able compose an album of distinction and individuality without the loss of cohesion. Job well done.

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