Wonky Tonk
Stuff We Leave Behind
(self-released)

Jasmine Pool (AKA Wonky Tonk) is a singular indie-voiced artist mixing genres of country, rock, and punk. Her new Stuff We Leave Behind release opens with the a cappella harmony mix of “I’ll Turn My Radio On” and splashes into the big and loud “Cleveland,” again employing lots of solid harmonies and a wry lyric and noisy lead guitar. “Denmark” has a sly, snapping, slow beat with a roiling electric and again those wonderful harmonies. I really like the laconic roll of this off-beat love song. “Tennessee,” with its plinky piano, mines another sad, low, slow vibe, informed perfectly by one of Tonk’s most evocative lyrics here. It’s a wonderful song of pathos and by the time the chorus comes in with wailing pedal steel and those full harmonies, you are simply transported. “Saffin Avenue” cooks like “Cleveland.” I liked the clinking rim shots here especially. This girl can rock. “One For The Juke” and “Keri On” is the pair that ends this album. The former is an electric guitar-led ballad that opens up wonderfully in the choruses and has Jasmine employing a slightly different vocal timbre, in a tune about being on the road and missing somebody. “Keri On” is a quick dobro-sounding, mostly Wonky Tonk solo-sung piece. The truly talented Wonky Tonk has her sensibilities well set for the time, places, and feelings she lets us share with her on Stuff We Leave Behind.