Jason Steel

Posted On: March 18, 2010
Posted In: Baby Wolves Abound, Fire Begot Ash, Jason Steel, Rif Mountain
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We recently discovered the gentle plucked string sounds of Jason Steel and have added a host of tracks from his two recent releases ‘Baby, Wolves Abound’ and ‘Fire Begot Ash’ to the channel 2 playlist…

Baby, Wolves Abound

Owl Service guitarist Jason Steel cues up his first solo release of 2010 (with a full-length album, Fire Begot Ash, to follow in March). There are eight songs here, with two covers included – Bob Dylan’s ‘Boots Of Spanish Leather’ and a great version of Cat Power’s ‘Baby Doll’ – plus an arrangement of the traditional tune ‘Bonny Black Hare’. Steel is an accomplished fingerpicker, plying his craft not only on guitar, but on ukulele and banjo too, demonstrating a real knack for ragtime and Appalachian styles of folk. ‘Baby Bat’ features some great six-string showboating, and the other instrumental – a sustain pedal-heavy piano-led piece called ‘Houses Have Memories’ – showcase Steel as a deft, emotive performer, but he can write too: ‘Twined’ and the Takoma-style ‘Box of Precious’ both stand up particularly well, leaving you primed and ready for that forthcoming full-length. – Boomkat review

The Bonny Black Hare

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Fire Begot Ash

Following on from his previous solo outing Baby, Wolves Abound, Owl Service guitarist Jason Steel continues to fingerpick his way through classic bluegrass and Americana on this massively enjoyable new full-length. It’s hard not to be surprised by Steel’s Yorkshire origins given the apparent authenticity of his music, yet sure enough, he’s probably more accustomed to the peaks of the Pennines than the Appalachians. Steel teams a warm croak of a vocal to his elaborately picked guitar parts – it’s all very classic in its approach, but Fire Begot Ash is not a record entirely focused on retro Americana; while ‘Young People Dancing’ and the excellent ‘High Game’ are expertly delivered Takoma loveliness, you also get more modern sounding singer-songwriter numbers such as ‘The False Bride’, which brings to mind Iron & Wine in its lilting balladry. Lots of good stuff to immerse yourself in here. – Boomkat review

The False Bride

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Both releases can be purchased form the Rif Mountain web store here

www.rifmountain.com
www.myspace.com/jasonsteelmusic

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