HALLE & THE JILT

Three Roads Home

halleandthejilt.com

Plenty of songwriters claim to take lyrics from diary entries, but in the case of Halle Petro, this seems especially true. Her songs are clear enough—most deal with relationships, and she pretty much lets on whether she’s hopeful or heartbroken—but there are gaps in the stories, just like there’s space in the arrangements of these 10 bluesy, rootsy jazz tunes. There’s little soul-diva belting here, as Petro stops shy of over-the-top feistiness, and her top-rank band similarly pulls back, piecing together minimal bass grooves, tastefully tasty guitar licks and snippets of harmonica and pedal steel. The subtlety soothes the ears and serves the words, which reveal more with each listen.