This 17-year-old bluegrass prodigy strums and picks all the right
instruments: guitar, banjo, mandolin. She also possesses a
deep-in-the-hollows croon that’s part native Texas, part ages-old
Americana. And on her debut album, she writes and sings about laying
her soul on the line and leaving home. Song Up in Her Head is an
authentic-sounding record that’s wise beyond Jarosz’s young age —
“Edge of a Dream” is written, played and sung with more maturity than
what’s typically found in a recent high-school graduate. But she
occasionally gets in over her head. Vocally, she strains aiming for
adulthood on some songs, and a cover of the Decemberists’ “Shankill
Butchers” is even more plodding than the original version. (She fares
better on her other cover, Tom Waits’ “Come on Up to the House.”) But
when everything comes together — like on the ballads “I Can’t
Love You Now” and “Can’t Hide” — the songs up in Jarosz’s head
are gorgeous ones indeed. — Gallucci
This article appears in Jun 17-23, 2009.
