Jo Harman’s “Exquisite” New Album People We Become Out Today
British Singer-Songwriter’s 2nd LP Features Michael McDonald on Guest Vocals
Early Supporters Include Glide, Vinyl Mag and American Songwriter
“On course to be the finest UK blues soul voice” – The Daily Mirror
“A voice that leaves you speechless” – BBC2
Award-winning British singer-songwriter Jo Harman’s second studio album People We Become is out today via Sands Foley Entertainment.
Recorded in Nashville with producer Fred Mollin (Billy Joel, Joe Cocker, Carly Simon, Jimmy Webb) the album features rock legend Michael McDonald on the first single “When We Were Young.”
“Jo Harman is yet another example of the rich lineage of great female soul singers to come from Great Britain,” McDonald recently told American Songwriter. “To be counted among these supremely talented women you have to really have it ‘goin’ on,’ which she surely does! It was my great privilege to work with her.”
Early supporters include Glide and Vinyl, who each premiered tracks from the album.
People We Become debuted at the top of Radio 1’s album airplay chart in the Netherlands, a testament to her popularity overseas. BBC2 Radio added “When We Were Young” to their prestigious playlist. Early reviews have been laudatory; Get Ready To Rock Me calls it “an exquisite album rooted in the classic, timeless music of past generations, and quite possibly the finest blue eyed soul vocal performance you’ll hear all year.” Bluesdoodles praised its “smoky, soulful ballads and brassy, Motown-tinged anthems.” “Jo mines pop, soul and gritty blues with conviction,” The Daily Mirror notes.
People We Become marks the biggest leap of Harman’s career. While a winter storm raged outside, Harman and Mollin holed up inside Nashville’s famed Sound Emporium Studio for three weeks, focusing on a warm sound — full of upright piano, Rhodes, unaffected bursts of electric guitar, and the soulful sweep of Harman’s voice — that contrasted with the town’s snowy weather. The most striking instrument on the album is Harman’s voice, sharpened by her years on the road, and sounding better than ever.
Raised in Southwest England, Harman found success on her own terms with her debut, Dirt On My Tongue. The album was released independently in 2013 and supported by a touring schedule that found Harman sharing the stage with icons like Patti Smith, Joan Baez and Sinead O’Connor. Dirt On My Tongue was embraced with particular devotion by the blues community in the U.K., with Harman racking up more than a half-dozen nominations from the British Blues Awards — including “Female Vocalist of the Year,” which she won in 2014.
Harman, a veteran of the UK festival circuit, released the live album Live at the Royal Albert Hall in 2014. She’ll make her long-awaited US debut at Joe’s Pub in New York City on March 28. Additional tour dates will be announced soon.
Track List:
1. No One Left To Blame
2. Silhouettes Of You
3. Lend Me Your Love
4. Unchanged And Alone
5. Reformation
6. Changing Of The Guard
7. Person Of Interest
8. When We Were Young
9. Turned The Final Page
10. Don’t Want You To Be Lonely
SOURCE: PRESS RELEASE