Queen of the Minor Key Signature Sounds****

Born in Boise, Idaho, but now based in Boston, Jewell and her modest but brilliantly effective three-piece band have quietly forged a sound that is both distinctive and familiar.

She describes her music as a “blend of country music, rockabilly, rock and roll, blues, it’s a little of everything I think”.

That applies to the 12 songs bookended by two short instrumentals here. The musical references are to the 1950s, the band augmented by moody organ and smoky brass, but Jewell’s lyrics are timeless meditations on love, longing, and the relentless search for happiness.

It helps that her voice drips with a weary melancholy, Jerry Miller's magnificent guitar laying notes around it like silver tears as on Over Againor Only One. There is a punchy side, as with Bang, Bang, Bang, or the title track, although Jewell always retains her classy reserve like some knowing innocent from a noir movie. See eilenjewell.com

Download tracks: Only One, Queen of the Minor Key