Becky Buller: “Jubilee” (2024) CD Review

Becky Buller’s most recent disc, last year’s Jubilee, is a collection of pieces that are connected by theme and meant to be listened to straight through (which, really, is the way you should listen to any album, but I won’t harangue folks about that now). This release deals with anxiety and depression, things that were exacerbated by the reality of the pandemic. The music itself, however, is not a downer. It was all written or co-written by Becky Buller, who plays fiddle and cello banjo on these tracks. Joining her are Jacob Groopman on vocals and guitar, Daniel Hardin on vocals and bass, Wes Lee on mandolin, and Ned Luberecki on banjo. Special guest Aoife O’Donovan, who co-wrote several tracks with Becky, joins her on vocals on one track.

This disc opens with “Prelude,” a pretty fiddle instrumental tune. There is an ache and a yearning heard in the playing of this short piece. And then suddenly there is a burst of joy as the other musicians join her and they go straight into “Kismet.” It’s interesting, because while the word “kismet” has a kind of playful feel in one’s mouth, the meaning is something much darker – the idea of fate, of doom, of destiny, of the course of one’s life being predetermined, which I don’t subscribe to at all. But no matter, for this music is wonderful. It does have more of the playful feel of the word than the darkness it hints at. This track features some excellent work on guitar. It then relaxes at the end, its various elements almost seeming to scatter in the winds.

“Woman” eases in with a somewhat contemplative feel. This is the first of the album’s tracks to feature vocals, with Becky singing. “I’m chasing a thread/It’s flaxen and fine/To spin me a web/Of tune and rhyme/Something that heals/Has a truth to impart/Yet never reveals/My inmost heart.” Yes, it’s a song about songwriting, but more about the songwriter herself, the “woman behind the words.” Can we separate the work from the writer, appreciate the work without giving a thought about the singer? Many of us seek a sort of healing from the music we listen to, and to a certain extent receive it. And the singers? Do they also find healing in those very songs? Becky Buller delivers a passionate and moving vocal performance here.

“Interlude” is a very short instrumental piece delivered on guitar and serving perhaps as an introduction to the album’s title track. It runs straight into that song. “I need a year of jubilee/With no one pulling back on me/I wish my mind would let me be/I need a year of jubilee.” Oh yes! This is certainly a song we can all relate to, particularly now. There is beauty to this song, as well as some catchy elements, but for me it is the song’s lyrical content that especially makes this track stand out. “I want a life of letting go/To escape the undertow.” Aoife O’ Donovan, who co-wrote this one (as well as “Interlude”) joins Becky Buller on vocals on this track. “Jubilee” is followed by “Spiral,” a gentle, kind of sweet instrumental track. The fiddle pushes forward and upward in the middle of this track, and it gently lets go at the end.

“Alone” has more intensity from the start, working to pull us in. Its first lines add to that sensation: “What’s it gonna take/To hear beyond the noise/I’m about to break/I’ve got no choice.” This is another song that many of us will relate to. And it contains a reference to Hamlet, which I appreciate. Here, Becky sings, “No rest in my waking/To sleep, perchance to dream.” The line “To sleep, perchance to dream” comes from Hamlet’s most famous soliloquy, which is about life and death, that line leading Hamlet to wonder that if death were just a long sleep, what might its dreams entail? It’s a frightening thought to Hamlet, the unknown after death, and that feeling guides us here, as she sings “It would be better if I was laid beneath a stone.” This track also features some excellent work on banjo and mandolin, and there is a fantastic jam toward the end. This is one of my personal favorites.

“Descent” is a kind of intriguing instrumental, dropping hints, and then beginning to build in power. Don’t think I’m crazy, but it has a sort of “Other One” thing happening in those moments, particularly on the fiddle. This track leads straight into “Whale.” Like “Alone,” this one looks at possible death. And in the second stanza it too begins to build in power, and it is here that she reaches a better place. As she sings, “‘Til my mind cleared just a little/And a little was enough.” Ah yes, sometimes that can be enough. This song is encouraging, and here when she mentions a dream, it has a different feel, more positive, even if there remains something of the unknown. This song seems to grab life and leap onto its back, seizes not only the moment, but life itself. It contains some great playing, and I’m particularly fond of that bass work. This is another of my personal favorites. The disc then ends with “Postlude,” which was co-written by Aoife O'Donovan. Unlike the opening track, “Prelude,” this one features vocals, and in its lyrics is the album’s title: “There came a year of jubilee.” Oh yes! Yet this song doesn’t have some wild, joyous vibe. Rather, there is a contentment, a more personal joy, a sense of optimism. And I think that’s what many of us are striving for in these difficult days. What a wonderful way to wrap things up.

CD Track List

1. Prelude
2. Kismet
3. Woman
4. Interlude
5. Jubilee
6. Spiral
7. Alone
8. Descent
9. Whale
10. Postlude

Jubilee was released on May 17, 2024, and is available on vinyl as well as CD.