JBM : Stray Ashes

<img src="http://www.qromag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/jbmstayashes.jpg" alt="JBM : Stray Ashes" /><br /> JBM has done more with follow-up <i>Stray Ashes</i>, and while not a world-beater yet, he's definitely established a presence. ...
JBM : Stray Ashes
7.2 Western Vinyl
2012 

JBM : Stray Ashes When singer/songwriter Jesse Merchant – a.k.a. JBM – debuted a few years ago with Not Even In July (QRO review), he felt like just another stripped alt-folk artist in a genre that is already way past full; July was nice, but hardly necessary, and JBM needed to do more.  Well, he has done more with follow-up Stray Ashes, and while not a world-beater yet, he’s definitely established a presence.

Not that JBM has done any monumental changes, but instead just added some of the right elements to his alt-folk to make for a more interesting sound.  The distant loss of "Ferry", building & building into crescendo & crash of "Only Now", more expansive and emotive "Thames" – all point towards a better class of singer/songwriter.  And even the pieces he does that feel like they’ve been done before, such as the sad restraint with pedal steel slide guitar on "You Always Keep Around" and "Crooked Branches", are still done well.

JBM is not the next Bon Iver (QRO live review) – not yet, anyway.  But he has built into something bigger on Stray Ashes.

MP3 Stream: "Only Now"

{audio}/mp3/files/JBM – Only Now.mp3{/audio}

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