GRASSROOTSMUSIC.COM REVIEW
Driving to work in Nashville, TN on a melancholy rainy day, still trying to wake up, I found comfort in a “life-soaked”, acoustic album by JJ Heller – “Only Love Remains.”
Filled with copper and bronze tones that that are less country than Alison Krauss (Only You) and more folk than a fictional MTV acoustic set by Evanescence (On My Own). This album offers more than comfort for the burdened. Melodic hooks and rock rhythms (even reminiscent of the 90’s hit song by Tonic, “If You Could only See,”) create an album with a cohesive theme that ranges the emotional spectrum. Often classical in nature, melodic pianos and passionate cellos bring the focus of the album firmly on the core of the song writing, brought to brilliant life by Heller’s voice.
This, JJ Heller’s 3rd independent release was recorded in Nashville by the Grammy award winning producer Mitch Dane. (Jars of Clay, Bebo Norman) The recording features a long list of seasoned musicians featuring Bryan Sutton (Dixie Chicks, The Chieftains) on mandolin, guitar and banjo; David Henry (Over the Rhine) on cello; Ben Shive (Andrew Peterson) on piano; Andy Hubbard (Little Big Town, Fernando Ortega) on drums, Aaron Sands (Jars of Clay) on bass; with Jeremy Casella (singer/songwriter) and Andrew Osenga (Caedmon’s Call) on guitars/backing vocals.
Author Richard Foster, in his writings, often points out that what modern culture needs are not a greater number of educated people but for intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually deep people. Depth is the mark of this album. Each song stands as a vignette diving to the source of our modern skeletons of fear, selfishness, loneliness and “paradise lost.”
By exposing the honest truth of our too often scattered inner state, JJ offers hope, peace and love – an escape from despair. The secret behind its therapeutic truths lies beyond a well-crafted album to the crafter’s prayer, “Breathe into my spirit, Breathe into my veins, Until only love remains.”
BRYAN BERGMANN - Grassrootsmusic.com
