Album Reviews |

Jill Barber



For All Time 7½ ( 2007 )
Just For Now / Don’t Go Easy / When I’m Makin’ Love To You / Ashes To Ashes / Hard Line / For All Time / Legacy / Two Brown Eyes / Goodnight Sweetheart / The Knot / Starting To Show

I'm going to show my ignorance and state that I didn't even know Canada had a thriving roots-folk scene. Jill Barber is not only from Canada then but she's pretty damn good. The musicianship is explemplary, clear, soulful and rooted in folk. Her voice is something else, sultry and sexy and powerful. She reminds me in places of a better arranged and produced Laura Cantrell and that's high praise. An early favourite for me was 'Ashes To Ashes', just Jill and piano. This allows a space for her lyrics and vocals along with bass-vibes all wrapped together into a genuinely beautiful package. 'Two Brown Eyes' is another highlight focused around piano melodies, although the country styled guitar is also a delight. 'Starting To Show' sounds like the vulnerable song it truly is - just Jill and acoustic. I do like it when she strips everything back. Well, tasteful and rather lovely strings decorate the latter third of 'Starting To Show' but they only enhance an already established mood.

Her voice shines amazingly well on stand-out cut 'Just For Now', a slow-burning soul-blues number. 'Someday I will find a good man', she sings in true country-fashion and this is good enough to be covered by any number of country favourites. 'For All Time' is a quality set of tunes that deserves a wider audience. People need to get talking about Jill Barber.

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Readers Comments Neal Grosvenor Toronto I believe Jill also has a brother named Matthew who has quite a following too. He's more in the power-poppy vein though.