Horsepower For The Streets is Jonathan Jeremiah’s fifth album, his second for PIAS, a label which feels like a good home for a soulful singer linked to a cadre of artists more readily associated with mainland Europe than his own island. So far at least. Much of the new album was written in Saint-Pierre-De-Côle, the countryside beyond Bordeaux, during breaks in Jeremiah’s first tour of France. Long walks and open log fires. You can take the boy out of Brent… and the continent welcomes him with open arms (see also Tindersticks, Scott Matthew, revered across the Channel, where the artistic tradition is less distracted by Londinium hyperbole). The album was recorded in Bethlehemkerk, a renovated monumental church in Amsterdam Noord, with Amsterdam Sinfonietta, a 20-piece string orchestra. There’s clearly a European influence at work here, a bond which has endured.
2020 release. Some artists need smoke and mirrors. All Jeremiah Johnson needs are songs. In the age of manufactured pop, the acclaimed St. Louis bandleader is a beacon of time-honored songcraft, writing on acoustic guitar, digging deep for raw lyrics and insisting on studio production that bottles the sweat of his shows. The approach might sound old-school, but on Heavens To Betsy, the result is some of the most vital music of the new decade. Heavens To Betsy is another bold creative leap for an artist on fire. It's been just two years since Straitjacket hit #6 on the Billboard Blues Album chart and scored rave reviews across the board (Blues Blast: "This is grade-A primo stuff"). It was the cherry on top of Johnson's triumphant early career, following up 2014's Grind, 2016's varied Blues Heart Attack, and the confessional Ride The Blues documentary. But while Johnson is rightly proud of that early catalogue - and still serves up house-rocking takes on the Straitjacket material each night - he's always kept one eye on the horizon.
Every great artist has a moment when they realize who they are, Jeremiah Johnson has truly come into his own with his new release HI-FI DRIVE BY. Get ready for a high-fidelity sonic explosion that combines Johnson's master guitar work, songwriting skills and uniquely powerful vocals into ten tracks of pure brilliance. From the first track, featuring Victor Wainwright, to the third track featuring Brandon Santini, and all the way to the last note of the epic final track; HI-FI DRIVE BY delivers more hooks than fishermen's tackle box. Every song is carefully crafted with multiple layers of tasty musicianship; with new audio delights to discover every time you give this first-class release a spin.