A Spring May Well Up by Jacob Goins
An album inspired by a lack of inspiration reflecting some of the struggles of a creative mind.
Hi Pal,
I got an early bird copy of the new album by Jacob Goins and that’s why we are here today. Release Date: 27th September, 2024.
A few years ago, during the COVID-19 lockdown, I first tasted Jacob Goins’ music with his two EPs, Song of the City and In the Twilighting. These two stripped-down acoustic projects introduced me to his airy tone and soothingly delicate approach to folk music. I later spent some time with his 2017 debut, Journals from a Squall, and silently hoped he would release something new.
A Spring May Well Up is a mostly instrumental project that was inspired in a sense, by a lack of inspiration. Between his last project and this, Jacob experienced many fundamental changes in life, including getting married and starting a business.
So he began writing songs about not wanting to write songs, played some live shows alongside Lauren — his wife — and at these events, they played a few of these new tunes and shared their experiences and struggles with the audience. The responses from the audiences at these events birthed the motivation to record the album and this journey led them back to a place of love for the art and a realization of the centrality of music in their lives.
This backdrop is important as you approach this record because it defies some of the traditional inspirations and processes that tend to define a cohesive LP project. As such, it might be best to describe this as a project that is defined by moments. “No Song” starts that album off as one of the few songs with lyrics. His words reflect Jacob’s inner wrestling and explore some of the reasons for the creative quagmire.
…Lord of the light-hearted songbird
I have no flight in me
I’m grounded by my bitterness of heart
There’s a hardness that I can’t shake…
I also enjoyed the instrumental diversity on display here. While a song like “There is a River” has grounded traditional folk leanings with easy strums and chords, “North Cascade Morning, In and Out of Clouds” and “Little Logan, at Bowman Bay” are more expressive with jazz-influenced progressions. As you spend with the album, the muted percussions and secondary guitar licks become prominent and it makes for a more rewarding listening experience.
Another primary source of inspiration in these times came from nature, landscapes and places that Jacob had developed a connection with over the years. These themes are reflected in tunes like “Garden Song”, a song about finding quietness and inner peace and “Above the Leaves”, a song that seems to be speaking about the sufficiency of God. The title track, “A Spring May Well Up” also does this well, an instrumental tune with a soothing cadence.
My standout instrumental tracks were “September Melody of Fires Creek” and “Walnut Creek, an Affectionate Return” because they focused on the mandolin and banjo, giving them some time in the spotlight. I have also fallen in love with the first single, “Creekside Prayer” the more I’ve listened to it. However, my favourite song on the album is without a doubt, “Too Slow to Hear”.
On the tracklisting, it is the central point of the album and in many ways, I believe it defines what this journey is both from a lyrical and instrumental standpoint. It is a two-part song with warm keys, emotive strums and gorgeous harmonies from Lauren. It’s a song about the seeds of hope that spring up even in despair and Jacob finds a way to communicate this expertly with poetic imagery.
As I said at the start, this is an album of moments and I don’t mean that as a criticism. There are concept albums that are so thematically consistent that you need to consume them as a whole and this album simply isn’t one of those.
Although, it is defined by a loose theme, what you may find is that you are drawn to some songs more than others. My advice would be for you to spend the most time with the moments that you connect with because I get the sense that this is the entire point of this project — connection by shared experience. Additionally, as someone who has listened to all his projects, Jacob Goins strikes me as an artist who would be amazing to listen to live because his music seems to be built on connections. That’s what makes A Spring May Well Up, stand out.
Genre(s): Folk, Instrumentals
Connect with Jacob Goins
Instagram | Facebook
That’s it for today.
Catch you soon!
Feel free to leave a comment. Also, I am always open to hearing from you so feel free to send an email to me at stismavo@gmail.com