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Honey From The Ribcage

by Jamie Barnes

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1.
2.
Snow Angel 03:41
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4.
5.
Three Suns 05:00
6.
7.
Black Lung 03:22
8.
Oil Rig 04:34
9.
10.
White Owl 04:50

about

Press Reviews:
Barnes is "honey," homespun. This, the second LP he's recorded in his Louisville home studio, is a rich, folky Americana tapestry more fleshed out than his debut, The Fallen Acrobat, featuring spiritualized, double-tracked vocals, &, where it suits him, bits of tabla, banjo, keyboards, melodica, sitar, music box, & glockenspiel. But the focus remains him, his hushed vocals, & his acoustic guitar, full of real rumination. Barnes has overcome some problems, & his material steadfastly delves into his struggle with prescription drugs ("Red Prescription") & the scary memory loss they caused ("Second Guess My Own"), as well as the puritanism of his Christian Kentucky rearing. But the mood of the LP is aromatic, thanks to his restrained touch on the guitar& his singing's expressing his wonder at the pastoral playpen he lives in. Best lyric: "Idolatry is the lover's defect." And how.
~ Jack Rabid, The Big Take Over

Jamie Barnes' sophomore effort is a pleasant listen that shows once again that one-man bands can be pretty detailed things these days, given home-recording capabilities. The list of instruments played is as long as one's arm, but the key needs to be whether or not it's all worth something in the end. On balance, it is, though Honey from the Ribcage is more contemplative than in your face, often creating an easy feeling not all that far removed from, say, Dan Fogelberg — but if that doesn't raise hackles automatically, then there's nothing to fear. As it is, Barnes has more on his mind than reflections on masculinity during the Carter Administration, with songs touching on Biblical themes (the album title refers to the story of Samson) and questions of spirituality slowly, gently unfolding across the course of 40 minutes. Barnes' warm, softly yearning voice is instantly calming, an instrument in its own right that suggests lazy hours on a porch during a warm spring evening. That he can tackle the kind of subjects and language almost more familiar from the rampages of the Swans or Nick Cave's extremities on gentler songs like "Three Suns" and make it work is well to his credit. The album's only guest, Will Cummings, adds some great organ and harmonies on "Red Prescription," but Barnes' harmonies with himself stand up just fine elsewhere. Musically, Barnes' attention to detail often comes to the fore unexpectedly — consider how the echo and what sounds initially like soft trumpet during the break on "Snow Angel" add a cascading depth to a strong song. The jauntier swing of "Pearly Gate & Son Pest Control" — which has an absolutely brilliant title and perversely humorous lyrical conceit in addressing unsettling subject matter about sin and a vengeful deity — shows yet another side to this surprisingly complex album.
~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide

"I'll trade you my black lung for the blades of your shoulders that carry the weight as we both are growing older." What a brilliant line. This collection of eccentric acoustic pieces is very warm & moving. Despite the dark tone of the songs, the album has an almost "uplifting" feel to it. Jamie's voice is soothing & gentle, & the production work is brilliant. I would love to hear him perform a duet with fellow Silber vocalist Tara VanFlower someday. All that is missing from this release is your ears.
~ Poseidon, Gothic Beauty

There is a star being born here. Jamie's voice is effecting, hearfelt. The music and the sounds achieved on this recording are a perfect compliment to the quality of his voice. The flat, small-room sound of the drums on "Snow Angel," the crackly dry instruments on "Pearly Gate" (probably my favorite piece) are perfect, all of the little touches of percussion and plucked instruments really fill out the texture. This album was obviously approached with a great deal of care, attention to detail, and with enormous passion and love for the music itself.
~ Static Signals

It would be prosaic to say this is a modern folk album start to finish, even though it is. The whole thing is strummed on Barnes’ acoustic guitar with scant musical accompaniment, his James Taylor meets Jackson Browne voice delivering thoughtful, considered lyrics, mostly about love and human relationships.
It’s also a singer-songwriter’s concurrent dream and nightmare, the kind of long-player that inspires one guy to write the world’s greatest record in a furious swing of one-upmanship while shaming another to put his guitar away forever, struck by the sudden thwack realization he’ll never write a song as good as “Red Prescription.” I have now listened to that song seven times in a row, and having already played through the other nine songs three times, I can’t let it go past track three again. The craft of this song is staggering. A poignant tale about being addicted to prescription drugs and the paralyzing indifference that accompanies such things, the song is on par with the best Simon and Garfunkel ever plucked out. It’s flush with the rest of the record, a dazzling triumph for any songwriter willing to get this musically naked.
~ Stephen George, Leo

credits

released May 10, 2005

All Songs by Jamie Barnes 2005 Amerse Music (BMI)
additional guitar and background vox on "Red Prescription" and E-bow guitar on "White Owl" by Will Cummings.
Recorded at home in Louisville, KY.
Mastered by Tom Herbers at Third Ear Recordings, Minneapolis
Artwork by Kerri Horine

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Jamie Barnes Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville singer-songwriter Jamie Barnes has been recording his intimate & articulate bedroom pop gems since the early 2000's for multiple indie labels while gathering international acclaim. His latest offering, Ex-Voto, is out on Silber Records November 2020. ... more

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