'Juniper' Review: Irish star Lisa Lambe's second album is a love letter to nature brimming with country folk vibes
The talented performer Lisa Lambe has been hailed as an "Irish national treasure" and one of the finest singers and actors of her generation in the past. April 3 marks the release of her second solo album, 'Juniper', and her first via Blue Élan Records. As a graduate of Trinity College Dublin and a fixture with Ireland’s National Theatre, Lisa Lambe is a born entertainer, having sung at famous venues like Radio City Music Hall, Nokia Live, and Red Rocks as a lead singer with Celtic Woman.
As a solo artiste, Lisa has performed at the celebrated Celtic Connections and Glastonbury festivals, as well as The Irish Arts Centres in London, Paris and New York. Her first solo album, 'Hiding Away' was recorded in Nashville in 2015, and was markedly successful - her bright, soulful voice stole the show, being labeled as "pure gold" and "classy" by the media.
Setting her sights on bigger and better things, Lisa Lambe set out to record her most ambitious project yet in 2019 with the producer Karl Odlum. The resulting album, 'Juniper' was written in Ireland and recorded live in one room, at the remotely-located Attica Studios. Lisa described this new 11-song collection as “a love letter to nature,” inspired by the breathtaking Irish landscape and environment, although the songs come across as strikingly modern and universal. Lambe said she imagined 'Juniper' as a colorful story that weaved the elements of nature, time and place together, and that is clearly evident on this labor of love and melancholia.
Blessed with a soulful voice and gorgeous country-folk songwriting sensibilities, Lisa Lambe channels female music icons like Natalie Merchant, Stevie Nicks, Joni Mitchell and Alison Kraus on this album. The placid album opener 'North Star Rise' evokes images of embarking on a midnight stroll, starting off with the line "Stepping out in the night / Wandering, feeling fine." It's a gentle, mellow start that builds into a shimmering, soothing crescendo, with the chorus reiterating "Constant change in the light / Constant change in the sights / We'll be alright." This motif carries forward with 'Vision in Grey', which almost sounds like the revered band The National decided to write a wistful folk tune - "On a fisherman's moon / She walks the empty streets, calling out to the sea / Like a vision in grey she smiles / She is free."
The haunting 'Dust and Sand' is a gorgeous, understated affair that speaks of "hallowed ground, the bridge between lost and found" and "memories of you, my love." The next song, 'Burning Love' is a reverb-filled version of a torch song, dominated by Lambe's country vocals and some notable work on the drums. The title track 'Juniper' is an atmospheric ballad filled with major-interval harmonies & a minor-key organ that paints a stark picture of Ireland’s wild, rustic landscape - it was reportedly "sparked by a boldly gnarled juniper tree I spotted on an isolated bog road,” Lambe revealed in a press release. Album standout 'Hunter’s Moon' is a bluesy Fleetwood Mac-inspired ode to love - Lambe said that it was "a tribute to the pagan goddess who reminds us that love lights the path to home.”
The mid-tempo lead single, 'Tiny Devotions' captures the joy of musicians playing and harmonizing together, while 'Someone Like You' is a slow-burn groove enhanced by acoustic guitar and Kacey Musgraves-esque melodies. 'All The Stars' is an ambling, picturesque, delay-drenched journey as Lisa converses with a lover who is leaving - "The sky lights the way / The light is spirits of yesterday / Take my heart / I was fine before you came." 'Holding Back The Tide' is an emotional story of a young woman seeking "comfort in the night" and "holding back the tide, waiting for the light," adorned by a gorgeous string section and piano. Another lyrical stand-out is 'Lighthouse' which melds some beautiful imagery with glistening guitars, whilst waiting for love to find a way - "I am a lover in the darkness calling your name / I am a light in the sky, a quiet refrain."
“The purpose of the project was to capture the lightning of making music,” said Lisa Lambe. “With this recording, there was a huge desire in me to find the tribe of musicians and listeners to go on a completely new journey with me. All the elements came together, and the result is a vast landscape of color and sound not tied to one nationality or genre, but instead to the notion of a tribe.” She's certainly succeeded in creating a rich tapestry of vivid images and heartfelt emotion. Country-folk melodies have never sounded so pure, sweet and poignant as this well-judged effort from Lisa Lambe.