Poet, writer, and singer-songwriter Leslie Evers will release her sophomore album, Bound for Land, a collection of folk and American roots songs, on February 2. Bound for Land follows Evers’s debut album, I Can’t Remember My Dreams,
Originally from Chicago, when she was young her family relocated to Northern California, where Evers still lives. Explaining her love for music, in her interview with Guernslye Honoré, Evers said, “My musical inspirations started during the ‘60s and ‘70s when everything was changing culturally and politically, and it all seemed to be tied to the music. I fell in love with pop and folk while also listening at the same time to the Broadway musicals and classic jazz standards that my parents collected.”
Encompassing 11 tracks, Bound for Land begins with “Pull Your Heart Away,” an upbeat folk-flavored tune reminiscent of Joni Mitchell, highlighted by a softly gleaming acoustic guitar and Evers’s crystalline tinted voice, imbuing the lyrics with smooth, polished timbres.
Entry points include “What Kind of a Heart,” which rolls out on light, sparkling Americana flavors riding a bouncy-lite rhythm. In the chorus, a delicious male tenor voice harmonizes with Evers’s exquisite voice.
A personal favorite because of its gentle swaying motion, “Almost In Love,” floats on a low-slung guitar with hints of jazz coloration as Evers’s warm vocals infuse the lyrics with quixotic savors. Whereas “Genevieve” allows Evers to display the tender side of her voice, at once nuanced and dripping with alluring warmth.
Tinted by shades of melancholy, “Slow” drifts on a mellow guitar accented by a crying harmonica. Darker and lower, Evers’s vocals give the lyrics traces of sorrow and regret.
“Did you think I wouldn’t know / God I’m slow / God I’m slow.”
Drenched in luscious tones of gospel, “Along the Rocky Way” forms a beautiful folk-like hymn. Evers’s voice assumes a tasty sing-song cadence, imbuing the lyrics with elegant tonal inflections, especially when harmonizing.
Gorgeously wrought, taking in tints of everything from jazz to country to folk to gospel, with Bound for Land, Leslie Evers zeroes in on the sweet spot – and hits it.
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