People Have Names

Whereas many of her contemporaries have lost momentum, their best work behind them, Juliet Turner’s fourth studio album is an intoxicating example of an adventurous artist moving forward, discovering fresh topics, literate themes and intriguing sounds with which to tease her artistic muse.
‘Invisible To The Eye’ is a striking song, with Turner’s voice at its most sublime. The Cohen-ish ‘High Hopes’ looks at the vicissitudes of love, ‘Elder Of The Tribe’ focuses on contrasting generational differences, while the unsettling, country-tinged ‘Tuesday Night Ladies’ – boasting a particularly exquisite vocal from Turner – is a graphic depiction of modern lives lived with no direction home. Despite the slow tempo, ‘Joy’ is uplifting and brash, with a self-confident sweet swagger, but ‘Trickster’ is the real gem, a deceptively catchy tune with the refrain, “What do you mean you don’t like shopping?/What do you mean you don’t watch TV?”
Keith Lawless’s production, drizzled with warm strings and splashes of accordion and brass, brings a seductive and uncluttered feel to a bunch of songs that Turner seems to have been tenderly nurturing for a while. People Have Names is about as faultless as it gets, and a serious contender for album of the year.

KEY TRACK: ‘TRICKSTER’