In-store: Jennifer Castle

Jennifer Castle

Soundscapes. Tuesday, May 24, 2011.

There was the evening's honest sunlight and poetry in the air as I tromped down Grace to head to Soundscapes, lightness in my heart and broken lightbulbs on the sidewalk. Altogether perfect for an acoustic mini-set from Jennifer Castle, whose music also mixes sweet spirit and dark soul-murmurs.

In the flesh, mind you, she always seems bright and cheery, until she lays her hands on her guitar, closes her eyes and starts channelling something. Before she could get down to it, however, while a friend brought up a bouquet of lilacs to set at the foot of her chair she went over to the cash register to borrow a copy of her own album to have something to use as a setlist.

This would be a solo set on electric guitar, used to pick out a spare backdrop for her songs. Castle's playing can be very minimal, but an occasional flourish would occasionally remind that the paring down is a deliberate choice, and never a result of ability's limitations. As I've seen her do before, Castle moved through the set in mini-suites, leading with "Way of the Crow" seguing through four more titles before stopping to let the crowd respond with applause.

And then another burst of songs. Eyes closed, Castle manages to give the impression of disciplined restraint and instinctive sensuousness at the same time, and maybe in the murky flow from song to song there's an undertone that all these dualities — cheerful singer/grim troubadour; technique/improvised drift; the joy of love/a hurting heart — are cheap perceptual constructions. She's looked at clouds from both sides now.

Most of the songs would be from the excellent Castlemusic album that this set was celebrating, including "Misguided" — which I don't think I'd heard live before. "For My Friends", a high point from the older You Can't Take Anyone also found its way in there. And then a pause to slip on her capo and chat for a moment before diving back in a new key with the evocative "Powers", and then playing the unreleased "Sailing Away" (and its instrumental counterpart) she'd played at her Horseshoe gig.

Dank bar or cheery store, porch or leafy park, Castle brings an earthy sense of intimacy. The songs evoke both loneliness and self-reliance alongside the ease given by small comforts: a bouquet of flowers, a quick laugh or a bottle of wine ("lord send me laughter / and honey don't be long with my drink"). And of course, the comfort brought by sharing a song with a bunch of friends.

Listen to a song from this set here.