Kelly Hunt - Even the Sparrow (2019)

With the release of her stellar debut album Even the Sparrow on Rare Bird Records, Kansas City-based/Memphis-born Folk/Americana singer-songwriter banjo player Kelly Hunt announces herself as an elite songwriting talent, compelling storyteller and organic, cinematic interweaver of traditional sensibilities and the human experience. Reminiscent of modern traditionalists such as Gillian Welch, Even the Sparrow reveals an ineffable quality that hovers beyond the constraints of genre, à la Anais Mitchell and Patty Griffin. The album fully displays Hunt's penchant for masterful storytelling and intriguing arrangement, as researched and complex as they are memorable, punctuated by articulate melodies, a creative command of lyrical delivery and emotional communication and a unique self-taught approach to banjo at times calling back to the percussive West-African origins of the instrument. This impressive 12-song set no doubt launches Kelly Hunt on what promises to be a long, accomplished career.