Brooklyn Folk-Pop. - Common Jack: Canyons in the Dark
posted 14 Jun 2019 by Krister Axel
A rallying cry for love, and the power we give each other to endure hardship.

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With a purity of expression that might remind you a bit of Josh Ritter, the melody and lyricism pair well with a folk-pop sensibility on the title-track to his new EP, Canyons in the Dark. With dusty ephemera from the lap steel, and a warm, acoustic-drum track, along with a clean amp-tone from the lead guitar, we feel immediately at home with the easy groove.

By digging in to the lyrics, we see the hard-earned lesson that is on display - which is that we always blame ourselves last when things go wrong, while the truth may be simply that we tend to find what we’re looking for, and it’s hard to break old patterns.

I've been looking for a storm so one is always blowing in

However, the real eureka here is that we can find salvation, even in the dark, when we have a hand to hold. Canyons in the Dark, the latest from Brooklyn’s Common Jack is a rallying cry for love, and the power we give each other to endure hardship.

Singer-songwriter John Gardner formed Brooklyn-based folk-rock band Common Jack during a two-and-a-half-year world tour with the Broadway show, Once. Based on the indie film of the same name starring Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova, Gardner spent those years playing Once to sold-out houses in America, Canada, and Japan while gigging with his own material in his free time. The title track from his upcoming EP, Canyons in the Dark asks the question: How do we begin to climb our way out of rock bottom?

This song is featured on our Roots Collection playlist.

About the Author

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Krister Bjornson Axel

Ogdensburg, New York

Paris, France. Madison, Wisconsin. Los Angeles. Ashland, Oregon. Ottawa. I write music, I write about music, and I write code. See also: photography, prose, podcasting. I have 1 gorgeous wife, 2 amazing kids, and many interests.


Recent Awards: 2020 ND (Photo) Honorable Mention, 2020 Accenti Writing Contest Finalist