Singer-songwriter Valerie June, who began her career as a blues singer, has moved pretty far away from that with her fourth album, Owls, Omens, and Oracles. Call it Americana, but there are heavy tinges of pop and indie, with lighter hints of gospel and neo-soul. Here, she explores the many aspects of love but celebrates the joy of being alive. Producer M. Ward has his imprint all over the record, and June and Ward invited the Blind Boys of Alabama, Norah Jones, and DJ Carem Moetavation to join them on select tracks.
The core backing band includes drummer Stephen Hodges, bassist Kaveh Rastegar, and keyboardist/string and horn arranger Nate Walcott. Ward and June play guitars. Some tracks feature a three-piece horn section (with Josh Johnson on tenor) and a string quartet. Over-produced to a fault at times, she also pares down to the core quintet, to a trio with June, Ward, and Nora Jones, a duet with June and Ward, and a cappella across these generous 14 tracks. June wrote all of the songs except “Superpower,” a co-write with Moetavation.
Seriously, when excerpting these lines from various songs, you would guess a gospel record – “There is a light…learn to trust your spirit guide,””You’ll find dat joy joy in your soul,” “People get ready,” “Trust the path,” and “Calling my spirit back to me,” as examples. Yet it’s just as much about self-awareness, self-determination, the bliss of love, and moving on from breakup. There’s a fair amount to unpack here with the writing and varying musical accompaniment.
The full complement of instrumentation backs June’s bright, enthusiastic, girlish Tennessee twang on opener “Joy, Joy,” replete with a blistering electric guitar solo from Ward. The horn section sits out on “All I Really Wanna Do,” a very poppy tune with Ward and Walcott delivering an array of keys from piano to glockenspiel to organ behind June’s layered vocals. It’s one of several blissful love songs (“But we’ll keep on dancing through the hardest rain/Cause all I really wanna do is love you.”) “Endless Tree” finds June growling, hissing, and moaning over the news cycle and those bent on hate with the message of spreading love over a stomping, rocking beat. Idealistic lyrically with phrases like “A world where we could all be free/ As branches of an endless tree,” it becomes an anthemic singalong.
She pares down to core quintet for the peppy “Inside Me, regaling life’s lessons learned (“Cause this earth is a school”) while the horn section returns with Walcott doubling on trumpet as June sings most tenderly in the mid-tempo ballad “Trust the Path.” “Love Me Any Ole Way’ traces a joyous route from Memphis to New Orleans with Walcott spinning one of his best horn arrangements. She celebrates a new awareness, or turning a new corner, with the full set of instruments, augmented on the chorus by the Blind Boys of Alabama on the infectious “I’ve Been Changed.” “Superpower” is an outlier due to the programmed instruments the insertion of June’s spoken word poem “Blank Page” from her published book, Maps for the Modern World. “Sweet Things for You” is an effervescent love song with just Ward on guitar backing June and Nora Jones, two voices that surprisingly blend well together. The love theme continues in the ballad “I Am in Love, rendered by the quintet and June’s layered vocals and plenty of reverb.
The a cappella “Calling My Spirit” is a sequel of sorts to “Trust the Path,” with June and her layered vocals sending a plea upward to find the trusted path that she has somehow lost. June goes back to her roots, playing both acoustic guitar and banjo on the autobiographical, clever “My Life is a Country Song.” The acoustic vibe also runs through the vocal-guitar duet “Missin’ You (Yeah, Yeah),” showcasing Ward’s finger picking guitar technique. The dreamy closer “Love and Let Go” has soft horns and Ward’s marimba framing June’s glowing vocal.
Owls, Omens, and Oracles is indeed the uplifting record June was after, some clutter aside. For the uninitiated, June’s voice may be an acquired taste. Keep listening; it may grow on you.
