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The Jayhawks’ Mark Olson Releases New Solo Material

• 2nd Sep 2014

With his band The Jayhawks, Mark Olson made his brand of Americana a household name and now he returns with his latest solo record ‘Good-bye Lizelle’ – you can check out the first track from the album, ‘Cherry Thieves’, below.

When you’re confronted with some new material from one of America’s greatest contemporary songwriters it’s hard to be overly critical, so we’re not going to – we’re going to do the opposite and say that Cherry Thieves already has all the hallmarks of a classic in the making.

Evocative of his hometown of Joshua Tree near the Mojave Desert, the cuttingly honest delivery of Olson’s vocal on this stripped back piano and guitar track is only aided by the ambient birdsong and Ingunn Ringvold’s beautiful collaborative harmonies.

“There is quite a bit of ancient water stored under the granite rocks in Joshua Tree” says Olson of the inspiration for the track “I planted some cherry and apricot trees. I ran the irrigation lines and keep it going on batteries. They have fruit pretty much every year. One day I walk into the orchard and there was a ladder I did not recognize. Just when I was getting used to that a pick up pulled up and someone started to come out to get the ladder. I shouted woe partner and they took off. I chased them down the road in my pick up. It was like a bad movie. They had stolen all the cherries and forgotten their ladder.”

Check it out here:

Good-bye Lizelle is released 6th October via Glitterhouse Records