Eilen Jewell | Music Review

Musician Eilen Jewell is a ghost behind the microphone–a thin, blond wisp of a woman with a pair of probing doe eyes and a heart full of wanderlust. “Homesickness is kind of my muse,” she explains coolly. “I like that tension of not being at home and wondering where home is and do I ever get to go back.”

Her rootsy ballads are full of heartbroken drifters who keep one foot on the road out of town, a lifestyle Eilen has some experience with. A native of Boise, Idaho, she bounced around for a while before landing in Boston, where her career took off in true country form (her first record was destroyed when the studio burned down).

Three albums later, she’s attracted a legion of fans with her ability to deliver a sense of High Plains Zen. Her voice–an understated clarion full of hardscrabble wisdom and a touch of exhaustion–is an audible rendition of the old maxim “Life isn’t fair.”

With an extensive list of tour dates, Eilen now lives on the road she sings about. When asked where her career will take her next, she replies matter-of-factly, “I can’t really speak for tomorrow.” Here’s hoping she’ll stick around New England awhile.

For audio tracks and a performance schedule, go to: eilenjewell.com