Jenny Berkel - These Are the Sounds Left From Leaving (2022) [Hi-Res]

"I wrote the album in a tiny apartment, at a time when everything felt big and overwhelming," says poet and songwriter Jenny Berkel about her new album, "These Are the Sounds Left From Leaving". She was living in a brownstone walk-up full of radiant light and the ever-present soundscape of a leaky bath faucet. It was a sudden move at the time - a spontaneous departure from touring, bustling city life, being many things to many people'that landed Jenny in a space of self-imposed stillness. "The songs themselves are a study of proximity, bringing big fears into small spaces," says Jenny, reflecting on the album. "They're intimate examinations of a world that often overwhelms." The album features contributions from critically acclaimed folk duo Kacy & Clayton, and string arrangements by Colin Nealis (Andy Shauf) - the record was co-produced by Jenny alongside Dan Edmonds and Ryan Boldt (The Deep Dark Woods). Warm and dark, soft with stabs of madness, "These Are the Sounds Left From Leaving" is a cohesive collection of spare songs that bloom lushly with detail. Whether you're reading Jenny's poetry or listening to her songs, you'll experience her drawing layers of far-reaching concern into particular moments, like concentric waves rippling inward toward a lone cast stone. "These Are the Sounds Left From Leaving" showcases the perspective of a unique storytelling artist, with an evocative practice that hinges powerful narratives on the intricacies of a multifaceted musicality. A songwriter immersed in poetry, a poet immersed in music, her work in all its forms is an invitation into a world of relatable introspection, in which even absences can be sculpted into vividly memorable verse.