From the depths of Idaho, and singing from the depths of his own soul, Jens Kuross is here with a new record. The album, Crooked Songs, is a cousin of offerings from Bon Iver, Iron & Wine, and others of that ilk, but it's also something that scratches out its own space in a crowded indie scene.
Jens Kuross has a distinctive voice, and with his voice deep in the mix, the effect of material like "Hymn of Defeat" and "No One's Hiding from the Sun" is a bracing one. Intense and personal, the numbers sound like Tom Waits in a weird way. The mix is cluttered on purpose, with clangs and gurgles muffling the vocals a bit, and what could have been a straightforward effort from yet another singer-songwriter with a heart on the sleeve, is here something with at least a hint of mystery about it.
One critic might say "mysterious" and another "pretentious" though. And, in all fairness, some of this feels forced. Jens Kuross has locked himself into a style here, and it's darn impossible to hear much variety in the selections on Crooked Songs, given that each is structured and embellished in nearly the exact same way. Still, this can be riveting music, and Kuross certainly commands attention of a sort. And, the album is quite short so even if you agree about the lack of stylistic variation here, it almost doesn't matter because the bits of pleasure the album provides are probably ones best digested in small doses anyway.
Crooked Songs by Jens Kuross is out now via Woodsist. Details below too.
[Photo: Mark Oliver]