JEN HANNAH
MUSICIANS:
Jen Hannah: Vocals, Doumbek on "Ni Estas Uno" and Handclaps on "Shine A Light"
Andreas Schuld: Acoustic and Electric Guitars, Guitalele, Keyboards, Programming
Finn Manniche: Cello
John Hegner: Piano and Wurlitzer
Graeme Coleman: Piano on "Walk Through The World"
Cassandra Vohs-Demann & Alayna DeVar: Backing Vocals on "Shine A Light"
Nathen Aswell: Backing Vocals and Handclaps on "Shine A Light"
All music and lyrics by Jen Hannah
except "Dance With Me" music and lyrics by Jen Hannah and Andreas Schuld
Produced by Jen Hannah and Andreas Schuld
Released 2014
From the very beginning of Synesthesia, and for some of you who happen to be social network friends with me, I have been enthusiastically throwing my full support to the musical vision and artistry of singer/songwriter Jen Hannah. From her 2011 debut album "Grateful" and last year's single "Breathe," Hannah has deftly crafted an already impressive body of work that showcases her voluminously empathetic songwriting skills and even more importantly, the supreme warmth of her richly graceful voice, which has disarmed me every single time that I have had the opportunity to hear her sing.
Late last year, I received a copy of Hannah's second full length release, entitled "Rise," and throughout the business of the holiday season and the sheer amount of music that I had already been listening to, somehow I just knew that I wanted to find a quieter time to devote to Hannah's latest album as I did not want the noise of life to interfere with the intimacy she creates with her music. And so, after a holiday season which eventually settled itself down into the calmness of home, family, cats, rest and relaxation, the first of the New Year arrived and on one early morning, I placed the album into my car for the first listen and soon found the music playing in a repeated loop. I am hoping that I am able to convince you to give her album a try and perhaps you may find yourselves having similarly enthusiastic reactions.
As with her first album, Jen Hannah's "Rise" is another collection of quiet, introspective, meditative songs of hope and affirmation that are as devotional or as secular as I believe any listener would wish to take the songs into their individual beings. Hannah's songwriting and lyricism remains sharply direct, with her strict economy of words conveying deceptively simplistic sentiments that in reality unearth a world of emotions and spiritual nuances regarding precisely how she, and all of us, engage with the life force from day to day.
Most importantly, "Rise" is no mere retread of past material and in some cases, the material this time around is perhaps a bit tougher than what was found on "Grateful." Hannah is wise enough to know that songs of hope and affirmation do not necessarily work just existing in and of themselves as they can sometimes come off to some listeners as empty sentiments or hollow platitudes. With "Rise," Jen Hannah consistently and beautifully displays the deep, spiritual work we all undergo to continuously discover and live up to the best of ourselves, a task that is on-going and sometimes fraught with failure as success sometimes feels remote and unattainable. That honesty and emotional realism gives "Rise" a powerful grounding and depth that makes the level of rejoice found within this exquisite material that much more palpable and glorious.
.
"Rise" opens with the dual musical mission statements of "Call Of Life" (which carries an instrumentation that reminded me a little bit of the Indigo Girls) and the title track. Both of these selections are perfect examples of how Hannah utilizes language that on the first listen may sound to be too facile but there is a serious purposefulness and precise quality to the words that she has chosen to convey her messages. "Come nearer, step further/Move higher, go deeper/This is the call of Life," goes the chorus in the first song and immediately, I was struck with how the choice of Hannah's words actually gave me a sense of pause and the opportunity to really think about what she is singing.
Think about what it means to open your eyes each day and then, think again about what it actually means to perform all of your daily tasks just face the word and therefore, life itself, day in and day out, and only to find yourself in the position of having to perform the same duty all over again the very next day. Indeed, and even before we have departed our homes, life is calling and we have the choice to respond or not. For some of us, this act is automatic but I would think that for most of us, these actions just may be more difficult than we are either sometimes willing to admit to ourselves. And then, what of those for whom life itself is a constant series of obstacles, tribulations and even traumas?
The track "Rise" gives credence to all of us and whatever levels of baggage we may be carrying along with us through each day and night as again Hannah presents us with how our reaction to life and how we engage with life is indeed and always a choice. "Was stuck in the middle of hopelessness/Feeling the heat of this fire that burns/Then, I see in me a seed that needs/The heat of the flame to be set free/Let the refining fires burn/From the ashes of what I saw as failure I'll rise/From the rubble of what I saw as defeat, I'll rise," Hannah sings over gently chugging guitars which are augmented by the embrace of Finn Maniche's cello and the steady, unwavering percussive beat that urges Hannah, the song and all of us to continue moving forwards.
After the guiding healing heart of "Breathe" (originally profiled April 2014), Jen Hannah's "Rise" continues with the devotional prayer of "Abundant All," the blissfully communal and romantic "Dance With Me," and the lush divinity of "This Gift," a song that seemed to carry gentle nods to The Righteous Brothers' classic "Unchained Melody" to my ears. And as glistening as those tracks are, all of which are built around Hannah's subtle, nuanced and honey dipped vocals, I think she saved the best material for the album's final five tracks.
"Sacred Vessel" was the first track on "Rise" that made me snap to attention due to its striking lyrical nakedness and emotional transparency, especially for an artist like Hannah who indeed wears her musical heart bravely upon her artistic sleeves. It is a song that begins as a stark confessional and with a certain level of probing and painful self-examination that is reminiscent (at least to my ears) of nothing less than the gripping work of John Lennon, most specifically within his solo work. "For years, it's been love-hate between us/For years, I wanted you to be something other than what you were," Hannah begins with a stunner of an opening couplet. And then, it continues:
"With you I wrestled,
Felt resentful,
Was so judgmental,
I was not gentle,
Not respectful,
Not reverential,
I thought I WAS you,
and nothing more,
Now, enough,
No more"
Wow.
With the mountain of music that I have listened to throughout my life, it is remarkable to think about how much of it has dealt with some form of inner pain, whether romantic, interpersonal, political or spiritual. There is so much that can be said about becoming immersed within songs of pain for pain's sake, as there is solace in the realization that what you are enduring in your own life is not solitary, in and of itself. Pain is universal and songs about pain are designed for us to feel a connection, even if it is with something as ephemeral as a song. That said, I do think that it is rare to hear songs about how to transcend pain or more truthfully, how one works through the pain. With "Sacred Vessel," a song that begins as described and then transforms itself into something of a processional, Jen Hannah is perfectly illustrating the work it takes to emerge from darkness and sometimes that work involves some serious soul searching meant to unearth some difficult truths about oneself, the very truths that can necessitate personal evolution. This is a song of remorse and forgiveness which also flips the script as the act of asking to be forgiven is often the most strenuous undertaking as is making the conscious choice to leave emotional turbulence behind.
The transcendence continues with "Shine A Light," whose melody and sing-a-long quality will inspire you to join in. The funky and percussive "Ni Estas Uno" brings Hannah's utopian outlook to the forefront and the album's finale "A Soul's Song Sung" feels like a direct message from Hannah to the listener explaining the gift that music has given to her and what she hopes she can give to it and to us in return.
Yet, still, there was one more track that truly moved me and seemed to hit me in the precise spot regarding how I am envisioning life and how it is lived...or at least how I am choosing to live and acknowledge it and those I encounter. The piano ballad "Walk Through The World" represents a sentiment I have only really begun to feel as I have gotten older, the understanding of how my life has been filled and shaped by every single individual that has ever entered it. When Hannah sings, "Yesterday, our steps ran parallel," I marvel at the people who are currently so crucial to my life that I simply cannot fathom a time when I did not know and love them. To that end, they are all in me and I hope that I have reciprocated enough because who am I without what they have given to me? Regardless of what some may think or believe, I do not believe that we voyage through life as empty vessels. I believe that we are filled by a universe of influences and that the process of discovering precisely who we are as individuals is directly integral to those we come in contact with. Whether I have seen you an hour ago or twenty years ago, I could not be who I am without you and this song just expressed this sentiment blissfully.
Where "Grateful" was an album of surprise and musical pensiveness and her single "Breathe" provided me with solace and release, "Rise" is a profoundly moving album where actually, the overwhelming emotion I felt throughout was sheer happiness. Not through any innocuous fashion, mind you. I felt happiness through hearing Jen Hannah's lovely voice again through some terrific new material and noticing just how much she has grown as a songwriter in such a short period of time. Working with her Co-Producer Andreas Schld, Hannah has forged a musical palate, while not terribly far removed from the acoustic based gentleness of "Grateful," that sounds a bit punchier, is beautifully sequenced and the songwriting itself sounds particularly more focused, tightened and direct. While I have always been so impressed with Hannah's lyrics, her songwriting pen has sharpened even more as she continuously finds just the precise words to convey a world of emotions in a clean, clear style that I feel that any listener could relate to, if they choose to give her music an honest chance. She is so musically clever in her unrepentantly emotional approach yet always displays a high level of taste as you can easily hear how the songs could drift straight into Mariah Carey territory but never do, as Hannah always understands that less is more.
Jen Hannah's "Rise" is the sound of an artist building steam, gaining confidence, growing stronger and one that seems to be realizing the breadth and depth of her musical powers more and more. And that voice!!! I could go on and on about her voice (and I have) but enough of me. It's time for you to find out for yourselves.
"Rise" is NOW available at www.JenHannahSings.com
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