At the peak of Covid in the summer of 2020, many of us understandably wished to shy away from the terrifying ticker-tape of death count announcements and unleash from the suffocating social bubbles bestowed upon us. London-dwelling Australian Juanita Stein had this rare luxury. On holiday in France with her family at the time of the outbreak, she decided to drive from there to an advertised isolated house in the Tuscan countryside and to borrow the words of Simon Pegg’s Shaun, “wait for this all to blow over”. She sat on a bench gazing at the vineyard below and felt the impulsive urge to pick up her guitar – as the noise of birds and cicadas chirped around her – and perform a song.
The music video and atmosphere on ‘Carry Me’ on Juanita Stein new album The Weightless Hour (teaming up once again with Ben Hillier, who also produced Nadine Shah’s emotionally charged Filthy Underneath earlier this year) reflect that peaceful moment in her journey. Although the lyrics themselves hear Stein reflecting on her thoughts about religion; from initially relying on the stories taught in her orthodox school (“I read all your scriptures. Walked through the parting of seas”) before coming to the realisation that she can tour herself through her life. This stillness and simplicity is a much needed break for Juanita Stein who has a solo discography of cinematic tales of expectation and disappointment and the mourning of her father – fellow musician Peter Stein (their close bond reflected by them contributing to each other’s records) – and is the method behind production choices on The Weightless Hour.
It’s an album with barely any drumming, aside from the noticeable drums on the admittedly forgettable ‘Ceremony’ (although it would have been more effective if they carried this restraint throughout the whole record) and a record where Juanita Stein’s vocals are clean, with comprehensible lyrics accompanied with serene humming and the addition of inhales of breath that make it seem like she is performing an exclusive concert in the living room of the listener.
Opening title track ‘The Weightless Hour‘ introduces this tranquillity; strums on acoustic guitar are interrupted by soaring electric guitar effects that are reminiscent of another Ben Hillier produced album in Doves’ Some Cities. Like a mantra from a meditation, the Australian vocalist lists things she can temporarily turn a blind eye to: “We living in the weightless hour, no ties to bind, no call to arms, no cross to bear, nobody’s home, nobody cares.” Her aim to stray from hardship is clear as “no cross to bear” is also mentioned on ‘Driving Nowhere’, which recalls the Americana sound heard on her previous records but interestingly hears her teaming up with the resonating gritty voice of Northern Irishman Pat Dam Smyth.
Juanita Stein’s fourth record also hears the musician evocatively reflect on two key moments that have shaped her human experience. ‘Old World‘ is a haunting folk song – that one can imagined being performed by First Aid Kit – that like ‘Carry Me’ tackles religion but this time it is about her Jewish heritage. The musician visited her grandmother’s hometown of Prague – a place her grandma was forced to leave in World War II – and the song tries to both connect with her family member’s experience but also as an Australian, shows a surprised disappointment in Europe and how it has treated its citizens in history. “Images of broken glass floating through the sky. Images of crumbling stone shaped like you and I / images of ashes piled high / Images of ghettos where my ancestors once cried.” Juanita Stein is known for her talent at storytelling and this accompanied by magical xylophone and ghostly calling make this spine-tingling listen. ‘The Game’ – which has the nostalgia aura of The Staves’ recent record All Now – has Stein stroking the guitar while reflecting upon the free spirited invincibility she felt with former band Howling Bells with a mature farewell. “I miss the smoke, flicker of flames / I miss the sound of wheels on the floor, driving ’til late and talking until 4 / Now you are a woman, have you learn it’s just the game.”
Although ‘Motionless’ has an rock energy that breaks the mould of much of the album’s mood, the lyrics are pinnacle to the concept of The Weightless Hour as they tackle Juanita Stein’s inability to stay spiritually still. Something which she is learning how to do. “I put the car in reverse, as long as I’m moving fast / Does it ever feel like walking on quick sand,” is the songwriter metaphorically using cars to illustrate how she doesn’t even mind going backwards if it means stillness doesn’t occur. Yet at the end of the song she triumphs in her goal when admitting: “Everything can change, I’m motionless today.” Due to the emotional growth presented on The Weightless Hour, this sure makes that Tuscan bench that Juanita Stein sat on that fateful day in 2020 seem somewhat magical.
