Joana Serrat - Dripping Springs (2017) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

Joining forces with Israel Nash who produced the album and also appears on it alongside musicians from the ranks of Midlake, John Grant and Trampled By Turtles, the latest offering from the Spanish singer-songwriter Joana Serrat takes its title ‘Dripping Springs‘ from the Texan town near to which it was recorded. Her fourth in five years, dealing with themes of farewell, the mood is set with the whisperingly moody dry deserts album opener, Western Cold Wind, swirls of keys and guitars gathering midway, before Lost Battles offers a warmer musical climate with its lap steel and brushed drums and Serrat’s hushed, accented vocals conjuring 60s European movie soundtracks. There’s a similar retro feel to Trapped In The Fog, where she says the fog becomes a metaphor for life, with its mix of Spectorish touches and echoes of 60s Japanese hit Sukiyaki.

The longest track here, at six minutes, Unnamed has a dreamy electro shimmer that gathers to an instrumental swell midway through that takes over the number until the closing notes. Likewise, a particular highlight with its reverberating electric guitars, slow drum march and quivering keys, Candles clocks in at almost five and a half minutes. That ethereality permeates, encompassing, the slow shuffling Farewell, the percussive waves and pulses of The Garden and the closing haze of Keep On Fallin’. It’s not all so serene, however, Shadows of Time featuring resonant guitars, rumbling drums behind Serrat’s purring vocals, while Come Closer has a perky, poppy bounce, and Walk In Sin a punchier desert Americana feel. Variously likened to Mojave 3, Neil Young and Mazzy Star, what might be best described as Dream Americana, this is certain to expand her following and bolster her scrapbook of glowing reviews even further. ~ folkradio.co.uk



Tracklist:
01. Western Cold Wind
02. Lost Battles
03. Trapped in the Fog
04. Unnamed
05. Farewell
06. Shadows of Time
07. Candles
08. Come Closer
09. The Garden
10. Walk in Sin
11. Keep on Fallin'