US Americana-Folk artist Jess Kerber releases new single "Carry My Home" - the final preview from her upcoming debut album 'From Way Down Here' out June 20th on Felte Records
LISTEN TO “CARRY MY HOME” HERE
DEBUT ALBUM ‘FROM WAY DOWN HERE’,
OUT JUNE 20TH THROUGH FELTE
PRE-ORDER/PRE-SAVE HERE
“I Wonder If I’ll Forget This” is a poignant dirge in the realm of Elliott Smith or Sufjan Stevens. Droning synths and a softly plucked guitar together possess a gentle devastation, heightened by the lugubrious lyrics: ’All of my advice / I only take when it hurts to cry / But mostly it just feels like / Nothing’s there.’ – STEREOGUM
“With her mix of luscious soundscapes and grounding lyrics, Kerber establishes herself as one of the most compelling new voices in modern folk and Americana, leading us through tales of love, loss, and longing with plenty of charm and grace.” EARMILK (Next To You)
“Anchored by hypnotic fingerpicked guitar and understated electronic programming, the track beautifully builds with Kerber’s soaring, honeyed vocals. It’s a lush and confident modern folk/Americana release, which is sure to turn heads.” – RECORD OF THE DAY (Next To You)
"Captivating and wistful, this folk ballad will reach your heart. The soft and brooding guitar lines set an intimate, minimalist atmosphere. Kerber’s tender, fragile vocals unfold with touching lyricism. And the artist’s raw vulnerability makes the song enthralling. " TONIC GRAIN
After an incredibly impactful run of form, which has included the breakout singles “Never Again”, “I Wonder If I’ll Forget This” and “Next To You”, rising Americana-folk artist Jess Kerber continues the support for her eagerly-awaited debut album ‘From Way Down Here’ with its final preview, “Carry My Home”.
Backed by the sound of soft rainfall, “Carry My Home” has the aura of an intimate living room performance, as the outside world vanishes and the purest sweetness is summoned from the sparest means. Above her sparkling, fingerpicked acoustic arrangement, Kerber’s radiant voice is a force of nature, mostly unadorned, but delicately layered into diffuse clouds at key moments. Her honest words are both reverent and contemplative, revealing the heart of a self-reliant wanderer: “I can't believe that I could lose my mind / Watching the sun a little / Make sure it sets under me / God it feels good to know / That I always carry my home”.
Speaking about the song she explains, "Carry My Home is about trusting myself and being able to shelter inside of that, mostly when the outside world can feel confusing."
Nashville’s Jess Kerber first picked up a guitar at the age of 12, and her precocious drive to experiment with different tunings and picking styles – influenced by kindred spirits like Joni Mitchell and Susan Tedeschi – led to the development of a unique sonic palette and authentic, personal approach to songwriting. On debut album ‘From Way Down Here’, she crafts a beautiful suite of powerfully emotive songs that reflect on maturity, humility, and the importance of feeling at home. Inspired equally by her upbringing in Louisiana and exposure to contemporary indie-folk as a student at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, these ten pieces highlight the dynamism and depth of Kerber’s gorgeous voice and thoughtful, humanistic lyrics, as well as the refined intricacy of her guitar playing.
Opener, “Never Again”, waltzes at mid-tempo with a placid strum and breathy tenor vocal right up front, blossoming into its chorus above diffuse guitar harmonies and a weeping pedal steel. Evoking the cocooned feeling of a starlit drive through the countryside, it is transportive and earnest, with shimmering production flourishes that subtly illuminate its vibrant core. “Next To You” is equally delicate, but offers a slight tonal shift, guided by understated electronic programming and a hypnotic, fingerpicked pattern. As it patiently builds, her multi-tracked, honeyed vocals rise from a gentle coo to a stirring howl, exhibiting a remarkable confidence and finesse.
While developing many of these compositions at early live performances in and around Boston and Cambridge, Kerber encountered fellow songwriter Will Orchard, who quickly became a partner and collaborator in the genesis of their recording. Orchard’s production prowess and multi-instrumental talents helped push Kerber’s arrangements to a new level of fullness, while retaining the disarming purity and emotion of the main elements, in a dynamic akin to that of renowned contemporaries Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. Nodding to the traditions of Americana, the two artists – along with mixing engineer Charlie Dahlke of The Brazen Youth – have created their own subgenre that is at once intimate and universal, comforting and raw.
Lead single, “I Wonder If I’ll Forget This” highlights this complexity with a reverberating organ drone and layered, delicately plucked guitars that cradle Kerber’s plaintive, sincere delivery. “Carry My Home” has the aura of a private living room performance, as her sparkling arrangement and angelic vocals are left mostly unadorned, while “Tropical Storm” summons a luminous sweetness from its bouncy tempo, complex time signature, and playful production, as she sings, “I am so small but so tall for my age / Time is so long / Tropical storm / Pull me right back home”.
Humility is also the lyrical undercurrent of title track, “From Way Down Here”, as Kerber hints at the grandeur of the world when viewed from a minuscule scale. Her vibrato creates a deep sense of tenderness and warmth, while Nick Larimore’s pedal steel sighs and sways in tandem with an easygoing accompaniment of drums, bass, and ambient guitar. Here, the influence of her childhood – and what she lovingly calls the “way apart from the rest of the world feeling” of the Deep South – shines through in the honest, straightforward, and timeless qualities of her composition.
The balladic “Enough” is built on one of Kerber’s most striking vocal melodies, as she sings about the moments that create a lasting love: long drives, quiet mornings, and keeping one another warm. Overflowing with affection and charm, it’s a touching ode that leads into closing track, “Over It”, where a stripped-back pairing of minimal keys and strummed guitar forefronts her arresting lyrics: “This life ain’t over yet / Change while you still can / When you mean what you say / Say it ‘til they understand”.
About her process, Kerber notes, “The most important thing is to lean into intuition, and when I was working with Will on these songs, it was so much fun that I almost forgot we were making a record.” Fittingly, From Way Down Here is the rare debut that shows all the fully-formed hallmarks of a seasoned songwriter, and across its varied environments, she creates a compelling world of raw beauty and truth, whose spell remains long after the final notes fade.
Jess Kerber will be touring across the US and Europe supporting Will Orchard on the following dates:
July 16 - Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live
July 17 - New York, NY @ Cafe Wha?
July 18 - Providence, RI @ AS220
July 19 - Brattleboro, VT @ Buoyant Heart Collective
July 31 Cambridge, MA @ Club Passim
Aug 01 - Nobleboro, ME @ Wanderwood
Sept 25 - Asker, Norway @ Kraaka Pub
Sept 26 - Halden, Norway @ Aladdin Scene
Sept 27 - Vaxjo, Sweden @ Mono
Sept 28 - Copenhagen, Denmark @ Raahuset
Sept 30 - Stockholm, Sweden @ Larry’s Corner
Oct 1 - Uppsala, Sweden @ Soppkoket
Oct 3 - Gothenburg, Sweden @ Skeppet
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