In their day, The Jayhawks were tagged as some new form of country rock but I always felt that was nonsense. Their luminous songs were upbeat pop with a sweet tinge of American. Wjhat distinguished them were the sublime harmonies of songwriters/singers/founding members Mark Olson and Gary Louris, capped by imaginative midsong arrangements. Eventually The Jayhawks found fame, commercialized, then split up. In recent years I’ve bought one Mark Olson solo but not Gary Louris’s 2008 solo nor any of the albums of Golden Smog, the supergroup he belongs to (with luminaries like Jeff Tweedy).
Now the two of them have reformed, at least temporarily, and in May I witnessed a spellbinding concert (see my brief report). I bought their Ready for the Flood at the show and can report that it’s every bit as compelling. In fact the album has the lovely, slightly ragged feel of the live act, courtesy of highly sympathetic production by Chris Robinson (of The Black Crowes). Mostly it’s just Olson and Louris fingerpicking, with occasional input from Robinson. The fifteen tracks range from melodic strummers to percussive bluesy pieces, but the predominant strain is classic Jayhawks: hummable, intelligent pop with sweeping high-low choruses. Cryptic but intelligent and topical lyrics top off the pleasure. My standout tracks are: ‘The Rose Society’ with its elegaic look at old age; the sweet folkish round melodies of ‘Doves and Stones’; and the soaring ‘Bicycle.’