Jake Bracey & The Mountain Laurels – Grand Avenue Hymns (2022)
The almost solo project of singer-songwriter Jake Bracey, Jake Bracey & The Mountain Laurels bring their own brand of indie-folk to the masses. Now, I say almost solo project as The Mountain Laurels is a collection of rotating musicians performing with frontman Jake Bracey. A veteran artist, Bracey has played covers to “drunken crowds” for a while, but this wasn’t feeding his inner creativity. The latest addition to his original discography is the album Grand Avenue Hymns.
Following his well-received single ‘Drag’ (read our review here), Grand Avenue Hymns explores self-reflection and self-growth in six tracks. Opening with ‘Synapse’ – a track released as a single in 2021 – Bracey sets you adrift on a glinting sonic river covered in a bluesy gossamer blanket. Yet, as you set off in a slow hazy cloud, ‘Drag’ suddenly lifts your head with a more up-tempo sound. The combination of blues-inspired guitars, steady drumbeats and lighter vocals (although still gruff) push you on a smoother course.
Moving from a blues tone, Jake Bracey & The Mountain Laurels reach out with a more folk-inspired tone. Lying somewhere between Mumford and Sons, The Lumineers and Vance Joy, Jake Bracey & The Mountain Laurels can be called part of the contemporary indie-folk scene. However, in ‘Spirals’ and ‘Smaller Circles’ they bring the intimacy of Leonard Cohen and the power of Bob Dylan. It’s a heavenly folk fiesta making you grin with its soothing nature.
What I love about Grand Avenue Hymns is how the movement from ‘Synapse’ to ‘The Corner’ showcases Bracey’s innovativeness and versatility as an artist. Beginning with slower, moodier sounds then flitting across to lighter, more toe-tapping folk – particularly in ‘Figure It Out’ which seems to express the change in its arrangement. As an album that looks at love, sorrow and reflective self-growth, I like to believe the opening tracks are the bad while the folk-inspired tracks look at the more empowered theme.
“’Grand Avenue Hymns’ is a labour of love, sorry and retrospection that arcs with the hills and valleys of what it means to grow with oneself and the trials that come with that evolution. The things we’ve done, regretfully and otherwise, that lead us right to where we stand today.” – Jake Bracey on Grand Avenue Hymns
For more from Jake Bracey & The Mountain Laurels check out his Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
