Pushin’ Against a Stone

This was just kinda nice. Bit of a shame I've turned to stone after looking at the album cover though.

Not surprised when reading up on it that someone from The Black Keys was involved in producing this.

This slots very cleanly into that wave of folk rock revival that was going on during the 2010s, made more interesting by ditching the rock angle and just going for straight singer-songwriter instead. I liked it.

All the genres, but not cluttered. Could have been released any time between 1940 and 2040, other than the purity of production and recording, without sounding out of place. An artist who I will be looking out for from now on; thanks for the tip.

This is a confident, genre-hopping debut that shows Valerie June’s range and charm, but also struggles a bit with coherence. There’s no denying the talent here: the songwriting is strong, the voice is distinct (if not for everyone), and there’s a heartfelt musical curiosity in every track.

Produced by Dan Auerbach (the Black Keys guy), the album has that retro, lo-fi 60s sound. But now, more than a decade on, it also dates the album a little. It’s the kind of nostalgic production that can slide into kitsch, and I found myself wondering on several occasions how these songs might’ve sounded with a more modern or timeless sound.

Valerie June clearly has a deep love for blues, folk, soul, country, and gospel, and she pours it all into this album. The downside is that it sometimes feels more like a tour of her influences than a fully formed style of her own.

This is really cool. An album filled with refreshing country ballads with real feeling and soul.

Loved this, great example of a modern retro album, great voice. Thanks to whoever submitted this album it’s going straight into my frequent rotation and I’ll be listening to further Valerie June albums,

I like the more soulful songs, but I don't like the folky ones nearly as much, especially the sparer, slower ones.