Rich, warm storytelling from a masterful craftsman.
A new name to Americana UK, Jackson Emmer’s “Battle Hymn of the Early Riser” is nonetheless his fifth solo album. Having played on the Bluebird Cafe stage and secured first place at the 2023 Telluride Troubadour contest, he is clearly someone who will suit the discerning Americana listener’s palate. This is further verified by some of the co-writers on his latest offering: Tom Paxton, Tim O’Brien, and Jaime Harris. Emmer is clearly doing something right to have such luminaries onboard.
Opener ‘Home Improvement’ sets the scene rather touchingly. Writing ostensibly about DIY within a family home, the song opens out into a beautifully nuanced extended metaphor, examining the ways that working on mundane chores with your loved ones strengthens the relationship bonds and creates the story of your lives together. With a subtle backing primarily of acoustic guitar and with some gorgeous steel guitar, the bare-bones and wooden-floor approach only augments the story told in the lyric, and with the added bonus of a lovely melody, too.
This is followed by the title track, which has a similar musical template but this time showcases wordplay which has both whip-smart wit and slightly goofball humour – a great trick, which few can pull off. It brings to mind a few that have gone before who have managed it – John Prine, Chris Smither, even Roger Miller back in the day. Whatever, it is effortless to listen to, and a lot of fun, but again with some surprising wisdom hidden within, as Emmer delights in the joy of being up with the lark (describing it as “a nihilistic existence neutraliser – battle hymn of the early riser!”).
Emmer has achieved a really lovely feel to the recordings here. Largely built around his acoustic guitar, and with a few embellishments here and there from steel or banjo, there is very little to get in the way of his storytelling. His voice has a warm, empathic quality that makes you want to keep listening. If there are hints of Guy Clark (‘Jericho’s Diamonds’), Prine (‘Hickory Street’), even the likes of Todd Snider (‘Mexican Cough Medicine’), Emmer is no copyist. Rather, this is a fully fledged songwriter who knows how to ply his craft to the best extent.
It is rare to find whole records that are both as immersive and enjoyable as this. If your tastes run to the folkier side of roots songwriting, ‘Battle Hymn of the Early Riser’ contains some of the best there is. A rare treat of a record, why would you deny yourself? Last word to Tim O’Brien: ”I chuckled, I sang along, and a few tears came. It’s personal, universal, fresh, and hopeful. And there’s steel guitar. Were you looking for more?”
