Juanita Stein – Snapshot

Knowing that ‘Snapshot’ was written around, and recorded following, the death of Juanita Stein’s father could immediately give the record a gravitas and sense of foreboding that, perhaps, without that knowledge it might not have possessed. But the singer’s third solo effort is a darker proposition; where her gorgeous, silky vocal usually comes paired with sun-soaked sonics, ‘Snapshot’ lets her voice wander. It falls to a near- whisper in ‘The Mavericks’, attacked by stabs of synth and sinister strings. ‘Reckoning’ has it fuelled with frustration, meanwhile, with the refrain of “you’ve gone away.” Moreover, the heavier guitars courtesy of Juanita’s brother and fellow Howling Bell, Joel Stein, give the record extra menace.