Set to be released on the 4th of February 2022 is Jana Pochop’s new album, The Astronaut. Being a concept album that explores the semantic field of outer space, freedom and the frightening unknown, Pochop shows the true thought, passion and hard work that has gone into producing an album that resonates with current her fans and listeners.
The album, produced by Daniel Barrett, consists of 8 tracks and begins beautifully with the song, Head Spin, which features a glorious trumpet interlude, courtesy of Ephraim Owens. Seen as an opportunity to collaborate in the fullest way possible, the pandemic offered a silver-lining for Ponchop and her musical possibilities, giving her the time and space to work with other musicians remotely. The track Hard Part sees the feature of Shawnee Kilgore, who offered her talent in terms of co-writing and vocal harmony. The acoustic guitar track is a simple yet delightful in its production, making it one of my standout favourites.
Quiet All The Time I believe is a testament musically in on the influence that Pochop’s emersion in the Texas scene has had on her sound, with its wistful country-inspired guitar melodies, as she sings:
‘I spent Summer on the coastline’
With the album being predominantly acoustic guitar based, Pochop remains true to a folk and indie influenced direction yet manages to keep things so interesting in terms of its lyrical content and the space themed thread in which she feeds throughout her lyrics. She cleverly almost puts herself in the position of the unofficial astronaut which drives this entire album. Building this imagery of her heart floating through the Solar System, Ponchop again opts for a soft instrumentation in this track as she talks about sending her love out into the unknown.
Overall, this album is a beautifully creation and your ears will be blessed on the 4th of February when you can finally listen for yourself. Meanwhile, you can presave the link, here.
To keep up to date with new music from Jana Ponchop, you can follow her on her relevant social media platforms, here.