The Bumper Jacksons have released their second album, Too Big World, a balanced collection of swing numbers, heartbreak ballads, and late-night moonshine foot stompers. Front woman and Florida native, Jess Eliot Myhre, honed her musical chops in jam sessions in the streets and clubs of New Orleans. In 2012, she met Maryland-born fellow songwriter Chris Ousley in Washington, DC, and the two joined forces to form the Bumper Jacksons’ core. Chris’ background in old-time banjo and bluegrass music harmonized perfectly with Jess’s vintage jazz credentials. ‘Too Big World’ is an excellent and enjoyable old-timey swing band meets folk album.The record kicks off with the fun “Coffee Mama”, a swing band tune that sounds as if it was plucked right out of the 1920s! The track features Chris Ousley on lead vocals and a jazzy trumpet, among other instruments. Jess Eliot Myhre takes lead vocals on the soulful jazz number “Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down”. This track is catchy and just has a really cool vibe to it. It’s definitely a standout on this album, an excellent piece of music. “Delta Bound” is bluesy in vocals, jazzy with a touch of swing on the instrumental side. The track features a jazzy clarinet and trumpet, and an almost foreboding undertone in the vocals. It’s a different, fresh track. One of the more folk oriented tracks on this record is “Come All You Virginia Gals”, a track warning Virginia girls not to go courting the local boys. I’ve heard one other version of this song, Kaia Kater’s “West Virginia Boys”, some of the lyrics are changed or dropped in the Bumper Jacksons’ version (or Kaia’s, take your pick), but both songs have the same foundation and are great tracks in their own way.
“Adventure Story” is a slow, subtle ballad. It’s essentially a love song about going on life’s adventure together. The energetic “I’ve Got My Whiskey” is a roots/bluegrass track in which Chris takes lead on vocals, about love gone wrong and heartbreak. The track’s lyrics take on heartbreak in a fun and witty way with verses like, “Yes I’ve got my whiskey/I don’t need you/And it keeps me warmer every night/ Like you could never do”. “Pretty Mama Put A Spell On Me” returns to that old-timey swing sound, with Jess taking lead again. “Red Silk Stockings” has a swing band meets original Nashville Sound production, as the duo swaps lead vocals yet again, this time Chris taking the lead.
Jess and Chris swap verses on the slow, soft ballad “I Learned I Was Wrong”. The track consists of an acoustic guitar and the duo’s vocals; it’s simple and stripped down. The track is a sad little number about love lost. “Jubilee” has a roots/bluegrass sound, featuring a guitar and fiddles. The fiddle parts on this song are beautiful, as always (you really can’t go wrong with a fiddle). It’s another softer track, subtle but beautiful just the same. “Watch It Skinny Woman” is the only track on this record to feature an electric guitar. The rhythm in this song, especially in the opening, reminds me of Waylon Jennings “Only Daddy That’ll Walk The Line”. The track has a modern day rockabilly meets swing sound to it. It’s definitely an interesting track.
“The Dying Californian”, meanwhile, is a true vocal track, with stripped down production that works to highlight the vocal performance of which Jess and Chris swap verses on. The song is about a dying person’s last thoughts and requests. It’s a melancholic track, one that will stay with you long after the song ends. “The Dying Californian” is another standout on the record. The Bumper Jacksons close out Too Big World with “Hell Is Hot”. The track starts out with a churchy sounding production as Chris sings through a laundry list of things to stay away from and what not to do’s to follow in order to get into heaven, but there’s a twist, the production switches to swing band on full blast as Chris declares all the reasons he’d rather be in hell.
‘Too Big World’ is an excellent, entertaining, and enjoyable album. There’s a little bit of everything on it, roots, bluegrass, swing band, and jazz. I love the old-timey sound the duo creates. I’d recommend this album to anyone looking for enjoyable, fresh music.
Originally posted here.
