Mon 7 May 2012
Jo Little - Till the Blue Skies Come Review
woken up with a pounding headache and a rotten gut in desperate need of immediate mental
soothing. The second was upon a long bus ride back south from Christchurch, a little worse for
ware n’ tare – a situation demanding music that sets a mood of travel and reflection, to ease the
suffering of the long haul hell ride, stopping by at none other than the dreaded Temuka tea rooms
on the tormenting descent down.
In both of these horrible situations, I was rather thankful that I had “Blue Skies” to help me
through - it was definitely something I could tune out and relax to. This record showcases
genuine talent in a somewhat understated manner, staying true to simplistic arrangements
and ‘bare bones’ instrumentation to carry the weight of the songs. The entire album is comprised of nothing more than acoustic guitars and harmony vocals which is quite ambitious, considering it could have easily transcended into something plain, boring and repetitive – luckily it didn’t, but perhaps a backing band could sound cool on the next one? The songs are nicely written and Jo has sweet voice, which I don’t at all remember getting sick of listening to.
In terms of production, it’s stripped back and minimalistic, setting a very gentle mood that
lasts throughout the record’s entirety. It sounds well balanced in the sense that it is not over
produced, yet still has obvious care put into it. Overall, I rate this highly for something that would appear to be a bit of a good old fashioned DIY project – it’s a pleasant listen, particularly because it feels honest and human. I recommend it for any situation where you don’t want your thoughts to exist. Enjoy!!!
Written by Michael Morris
