Folky Americana at it’s best.
For a self-released album to reach the pages of Heaven Magazine, it has to bring something you don’t hear so quickly on other cds. In the case of The River Grace, the debut album by the American singer-songwriter Jenee Halstead, it’s a combination of exceptional songs, great singing (angel-like and yet rootsy), exquisite instrumentation and a unique style, all Halstead’s own, somewhere between folk, pop, country and gospel. Housed in a beautiful digipack, it makes The River Grace one of the best Americana albums of 2008, a fact that opened itself up to me when I had marked half of the ten songs for ripping onto my computer the first time I heard the cd. It’s a tally which I seldom reach and is even put into more perspective when I note that such moving songs as Nick Drake and St. Peter weren’t even included. Subtly instrumented, with such rootsy instruments as dobro, pedal steel and mandolin, next to acoustical instruments like guitar, piano and upright bass, The River Grace is a cd that not only will enthrall lovers of rootsy singer-songwriters, but also appeal to fans of wonderful instrumental craft. Having said that, we already can’t wait for Jenee’s next album, as this goes way beyond being promising.
**** Pieter Wijnstekers