Jenny Lewis Joy'All (CD)

(Blue Note Records) 10 tracks, digisleeve

"Joy'All," the fifth solo album from Jenny Lewis and the follow-up to 2019's critically acclaimed "On The Line" (Warner Records), marks the beginning of a new era for the singer-songwriter in a new city - and on a new label, as she joins the iconic roster of Blue Note / Capitol Records. "I started writing some of these songs on the road, before the pandemic.... and then put them aside when the world came crashing down, and then in early 2021, from my home in Nashville, I participated in a week-long virtual songwriting workshop with a handful of amazing artists hosted by Beck. The challenge was to write a song every day for seven days, with guidance from Beck. The specifications were prompts like 'write a song with a 1-4-5 chord progression', 'write a song that is all cliché', or 'write in freeform style'. The first song I submitted to the group was 'Puppy and a Truck.'" As the days went by, more and more assignments came in, and Jenny ended up writing much of "Joy'All."

While "Joy'All" draws from a wealth of sonic inspirations - from soul to '90s R&B to country and classic singer-songwriter recordings - the album's lush and intimate live sound is the hallmark of eight-time Grammy winner and producer Dave Cobb (John Prine, Brandi Carlile, Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell), whom Jenny met by chance when she visited Lucius at the historic RCA Studio A in Nashville. A natural kinship developed between the two, and with her arsenal of songs demoed on her iPhone, Jenny texted Dave and asked him to produce her new album.

"Joy'All" - released on Blue Note / Capitol Records - is a beacon of enlightenment that can only come from embracing life and taking the good with the bad; it's a ten-song overture that invites listeners to find their own path to joy.