Austinist Album Review: Jana Hunter's Carrion

Houston native and current Baltimore resident Jana Hunter was once just as equally known for her solo material as she was for the musical associates with whom she kept company - take Ray Raposa of Castanets and Devendra Banhart, just to name a couple. But 2007 has been an ambitious year for Hunter, who has made her mark not only with recording projects like her well-received sophomore album There’s No Home, but also with the co-founding of a label called Feow! which has pending releases by Deer Tick and Bring Back the Guns in the near future.

As if that weren’t enough, Hunter just released Carrion, an EP with a darkly self-deprecating title that stands in as something of an outtakes release, featuring three reworked songs from There’s No Home and a few that were cut from that album’s final tracklist. Instead of letting these songs gather dust, Hunter had the self-awareness to recognize that the six numbers make a pretty fine EP all on their own. They also happen to nicely reflect the mood set by the acoustic-driven, thoughtful songs that have punctuated Hunter’s recorded output so far, but which also serve as an even more intimate portrait of her songwriting.

Most of the songs on Carrion are sparse, primarily just Hunter’s vocals and guitar, and all of the songs feature the analog crackles and hums that only the most homespun lo-fi recording sessions produce. “You Will Take It and Like It” is an instrumental featuring two interlocking, slowly-paced acoustic guitars, and outtake “A Goblin, a Goblin” is a tightly-woven story buttressed by laconic and sweet violins, not to mention Hunter’s own vocal harmonies.

As for the alternate versions of songs from There’s No Home, even listeners who prefer the final album versions should find nothing to complain about regarding these simple but elegant demos. The song “Sleep” had its genesis in the rough “Ooh Uuh,” and the EP’s version of “Oracle” is rough but endearing. Carrion is remarkable in that it can serve as both a go-to point for fans wanting more and even as a starting place for new listeners. With the intimidating genre of freak-folk looming over her work, the curious have nothing to fear from this release, as Hunter’s soothing but focused material calls to mind a bit of Chan Marshall at her most stripped-down, or Hope Sandaval at her least sedated - no witch-woman screeching or unbridled experimentalism, in other words.

It says a great deal about Hunter’s prowess that even a more-or-less accidental album like Carrion is still so effective. Here’s to more Jana Hunter in the very near future.

Jana Hunter MySpace
Jana Hunter Official
Jana Hunter's Daytrotter Sessions: August 16, 2007