The Jayhawks: “Quiet Corners & Empty Spaces” (2016)
I’ll defer here to Walter Tunis’ review of the Jayhawks’ Paging Mr. Proust album from the Lexington Herald Leader:
The opening tune to the new Jayhawks album Paging Mr. Proust isn’t just a fine encapsulation of the band’s Americana and pop inspirations. It is quite possibly the perfect pop song.
Clocking in at three minutes, there isn’t a wasted breath on Quiet Corners and Empty Spaces. It exudes melancholy and a hint of restless urgency (“Not far, a blue guitar was playing; it drew me like it knew me, saying…”) then strides along with such an effortless melodic flow as to recall The Byrds at their best. But then there are the vocals: a three-part harmony design created by Jayhawks chieftain Gary Louris along with keyboardist Karen Grotberg and drummer Tim O’Reagan. That’s the dealbreaker: a simple, infectious but overwhelmingly emotive wave of singing that proclaims, in definitive terms, that The Jayhawks have returned.
So captivating is the song that upon first listen to the album, I hit repeat five times before exploring the other riches within Paging Mr. Proust.
Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/entertainment/music-news-reviews/article75350057.html#storylink=cpy
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2012/10/25/songs-you-may-have-missed-206/
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2013/01/30/songs-you-may-have-missed-312/
Photo credit: Heidi Ehalt
Every Moment Has A Song 