Kate Jacobs

You Call That Dark

2004-05-06

If Iris Dement worked with Yo La Tengo, you’d probably get music that’s sweetly voiced, ethereally recorded, sensibly country and slightly bitter. Or maybe you’d have a Kate Jacobs record.

Kate, along with career collaborator and former Yo La Tengo guitarist Dave Schramm, lovingly paints sympathetic character portraits of the down-trodden in America. In “What a World, What a God”, an old immigrant confuses the word “pain” with the word “cash” and refuses medical treatment thinking his doctors are trying to rob him blind (but aren’t they?). Dreams quietly die in “Pete's Gonna Sell” and “Helen Has a House”. “Tall Buildings” go up, yet the city goes downhill.

Kate makes a vain attempt to balance these maladies by instilling dreams and beauty in the life of her child in “Life Can Be Sweet”. Puzzle over the remaining lyrics as much as you'd like.

Sonically…it’s swirling country music augmented by Schramm’s numerous instrumental contributions.
We Call This Great.

Quick Links:

More reviews tagged #Folk

  • reviewed 01/2012

    LOUISA BRANSCOMB
    I'll Take Love from the pen of Louisa Branscomb

  • reviewed 05/2012

    AARON FLINN
    Miss Ready Blossom and the Seed of Dreams

  • reviewed 05/2007

    Richard Thompson
    Sweet Warrior

  • reviewed 06/2007

    DANNY FLOWERS
    Tools For The Soul

  • reviewed 03/2014

    GRANT PEEPLES AND THE PEEPLES REPUBLIC
    Punishing The Myth

  • reviewed 11/2004

    Robyn Hitchock
    Spooked

Compiled by the WYCE Journalism Club

The opinions expressed in these reviews are those of the individual volunteers that submitted the article and do not necessarily reflect the views of WYCE or GRCMC; nor its staff, donors, or affiliates.