The Madrid-born singer-songwriter sounds every bit like a Nashville native on a highly listenable second album.
10 years ago, Madrid native Juana Everett decided it was time for her to make a big change, and so, she bravely crossed the Atlantic to the US, and in 2021, she realised her dream of releasing the debut solo album she had made there, the aptly titled Move On. Now she’s back with her follow-up, Past Lives in California, this time charting the years she has spent in the state and the ups and the downs she experienced along the way.
The album unfolds much like the decade-long physical and emotional journey Everett found herself taking throughout the Golden State, trying to find the place where she felt she belonged. The opener, the smooth Bring Me Back, finds her longing for a place in time more than a location itself as she wistfully remembers “going downhill on [her] sister’s bike” and being “Fourteen-fifteen / Turning every street of a big old city”. Songs like Roulette and Your Worst Enemy allow her to show a slightly rockier edge, while always maintaining a seemingly effortless, infectious melody.
One Million Dollars, a kind of heist fantasy with neo-noir western undertones running through it, is a piece of fun escapism that’s surprisingly effective as Everett sings sultrily of stealing “a million dollars from the bank” and of envisioning who she would “carbonize” when “things get rowdy in the corner bar”. Pinecrest really showcases the sweet, high tone of her vocals as she sings charmingly of leaving the city behind for the beauty of the titular place, where she plans to pour herself “a glass of Frangelico” as she sits on the porch and listens to the rain.
There are two guest artists on the album, Louisiana’s Dylan LeBlanc and California’s Nicki Bluhm, who provide vocals on Whatever It Takes and What A Swell Party respectively. LeBlanc’s lower, slightly husky voice is a nice contrast to Everett’s higher, clear one as the pair tell the story of two people putting the work in to make their relationship last “This is our home / And we make it / Every single day / Whatever it takes”, while Bluhm offers some simple, soft harmonies as Everett longs to “go back to nature”. The Janitor, a warts-and-all tale about the titular custodian, is a little 90s indie, while we’re treated to Everett singing in her mother tongue on Donde Todo Se Queda, a song about moving forward and slowly finding the strength you need to live each day.
To record Past Lives in California, Everett felt compelled to make another big journey, this time packing up her things and heading to Nashville. For a woman who had finally found a sense of home in Los Angeles, it was a risk, but one which very much paid off, as it allowed her to meet fellow Madrileño Alex Muñoz. He would go on to produce the album, imbuing it with an extra sense of authenticity gained from his time working with artists like Margo Price and John Hiatt. So next time you’re considering taking a leap of faith, think of Everett if you need proof that sometimes, following your instincts pays off.
