Karen Jonas: The Southwest Sky and Other Dreams
On March 14, 2020, I was listening to the remarkable duo of Americana singer/songwriter Karen Jonas and guitarist/producer Tim Bray perform favorites like, “Butter” and “Country Songs” while sitting at a table with a small group at a venue outside of Fredericksburg, VA. It was the last show I attended before the live music world was flipped upside down, and I stayed until the final note fell silent. Talking to them afterward about recording and promoting their 5th album without knowing that everything would soon go dark in the industry seems like a lifetime ago. At that time, nobody could have predicted that their UK tour, as well as their SXSW showcase where they would be able to share their music with wider audiences, would be cancelled. Like so many artists, they regrouped and used live feeds from local venues to share their music with fans. Although they had stellar sets every time I tuned in, it obviously wasn’t the same; however, it did help assuage my live music cravings and also revealed some of what was to come.
Exactly six months later, on August 14, 2020, I was able to see them play live again, but this time I was sitting at a table alone at a venue in Richmond, VA, mask at the ready, and more than a dozen feet from others who came to hear the new songs off of the album, The Southwest Sky and Other Dreams. The easy-going camaraderie between the two musicians and the ever vibrant vocals always capture my attention. Karen and Tim have this highly developed sound as solid as you would expect from a seven year musical partnership. Their distinct blend is only further enhanced when joined by Tom Hnatow (pedal steel, Wurlitzer), Seth Brown (drums) and Seth Morrisey (bass) on the album.
Maybe some of the characters who take shape in the songs are based on specific people, and some are just from Karen’s imagination, but their greater attitudes are a synthesis of her experiences and observations during her travels in the southwest. Amid the shutdown, they were able to release three fantastic singles and presented us with the wide range of characters she envisioned. The first, “Tuesday” is an uptempo tune that recounts being stuck but trying to gather the courage to go beyond the safety of the mundane. Reflecting on friends who followed their dreams, she returns to the familiar watering hole, drinks whiskey, and picks up strangers to soothe her soul and ease her mind, well, except on Tuesdays. “My mind is like a cartoon/ this circus in my head/ I think Tuesday’s probably a wash, folks/ I’m going back to bed.” The second, “Pink Leather Boots,” has this rockabilly flair accented by Tim’s guitar and backbeats driven by the two Seths... one slapping the bass and the other steady on the drums. Having watched the animated video that accompanied the release, it’s hard to unsee the story as it unfolded in Karen’s mind when she wrote it. Directed and animated by Matt Rasch, we are introduced to the trucker, who after a hard day’s drive, washes up with the scent of hope and heads on over to the local adult entertainment establishment. While having a cold beverage, he sees the “dancing girl” with “pink leather boots and not much else” and we are taken through his dream where they meet, fall in love, and have a family all while she wears the ever present pink leather boots. The third, “The Last Cowboy at the Bowling Alley” furnishes us with vivid characterizations of a worn down champion, a counter girl who “pops the tops off of his Budweisers” and the pretty lady who walks in and is greeted, “Buenas Noches, Senorita” by the old cowboy left behind by the passing of time. Tim’s cantina-inspired opening and Tom’s pedal steel combined with the reminiscent lyrics made me long for those days gone by where places like bowling alleys provided a space for people to spend time together.
“Out in Palm Tree Paradise” has a familiar smoky honky tonk twang, both instrumentally and vocally, and like others on the album, nods stylistically toward a more traditional country song. The lilt in her vocals help tell the tale as she acknowledges a failed relationship, and while she wishes the ex-lover a happy life, she hopes she is still missed “sometimes.” Another similar lens comes from the quieter start of, “Maybe You’d Hear Me Then.” As the song mentions the “southwest sky and other dreams,” a picture is painted of the disillusioned lover who seems to shift between apathy and wondering how to live without. The thoughtful arrangement of the instruments going from quiet to more robust, then back to quiet, and matching the decrescendo of Karen’s vocals as she repeats, “Maybe you’d hear me then” until the end seems to illustrate that vulnerability. Leading into the next track,“Be Sweet to Me,” we go back down a rockabilly road that reminds me a little of Elvis’s “Blue Suede Shoes” both in tempo and timbre. When she references the “hair slicked back like James Dean,” those lyrics seem to confirm the visualization. Tim fires up and down the fretboard at key points throughout the song as Karen’s vocals plead to not “be so mean” and to just “be sweet to me.”
“Farmer John” revisits the theme of the disaffected woman, but this ballad stands out as her sultry vocals with almost menacing undertones appear to predict an ominous end to Farmer John. As she puts the kettle on and expresses her impatience, “You’ve underestimated me too many times before/ Oh God, John/ Please don’t make me find out where you are” you might be able to feel his impending demise.
The last three songs on the album are all equally intriguing as “Barely Breathing” gently searches through small life moments that take our breath away, and “Better Days” laments through an almost conversational song reflecting on past mistakes, looking for strength, and trying to move forward while questioning, “Where are my better days?” The album closes with the well crafted and relatable “Don’t Blink Honey.” In almost lullaby form, the lyrics fuse the happy and the sad moments, and implore us to take advantage of all of the moments when they come, “Don’t blink honey, ‘cause you’ll miss something.”
Produced by Karen and E.P. Jackson and released on August 28, 2020, this album is nearly 37 minutes of an insightful storyteller sharing original, thoughtful characters and recognizable stories with us. While I will continue to enjoy each of her previous albums alongside this one, “The Southwest Sky and Other Dreams” is the natural progression of Karen Jonas and her amazing band’s talent. The album is available on your chosen listening platform, and I hope it finds its way into your collection, too!
Recorded and mixed at Fill Your Boots Studio in Fredericksburg, VA by E.P. Jackson
Mastered by Justin Perkins at Mystery Room Mastering, Milwaukee, WI.
Album Art by Print Jazz
Photos by Amber Renee Photography, Ryan Poe, Justin Bridges and Tom Windeknecht.