2026 – Navy House Productions
Release Date : September 4, 2026
By Phillip
Smith; September
5, 2026
It’s hard to believe it has
been five years since hearing new music from Jeni Grouws. Tell Tale Heart from Avey Grouws
Band was one of my absolute favorites of 2021. Grouws’ amazing voice and lyrical
prowess was a strong part of what I loved about that band. With Music House, Grouws emerges
as the solo singer/songwriter she was meant to be and brings eleven new
original tracks for her fans to fully enjoy.
Backing Grouws on this recording is producer Casey Wasner on
drums/percussion, Brian Allen on bass guitar, Mike Hicks on keys,
and Johnny Duke on guitar.
Special guests include Drew Smithers (Marcus King Band), Emmanuel
Echem (Tedeschi Trucks Band), Roy Agee, Evan Cobb, Matt
Fuller, Nick Vasquez, David Adbo, Kyshona and Anne
Harris.
“Burning For You” captivates me immediately. Grouws’ fearless vocals, Duke’s fiery guitar, and a driving groove pull me right in to this song of relentless passion. I absolutely love “Let Your Eyes Lay Low”. Grouws sings this striking ‘life-keeps-moving’ song filled with raw emotion as Harris lends an extraordinary accompaniment on violin. “Old Dive Bar”, an ode to a small-town version of Cheers, hits with a feel-good familiarity. The poetic cadence of her delivery reminds me in subtle ways of the fabulous Rickie Lee Jones. Vasquez's keyboard finesse ushers in “One Up From the Well”, where celebrating and drowning sorrows deserve something better than the cheap stuff. Loaded with a funky rhythm and injected with an infectious hook, Fuller tops this song with killer licks leading this track to land as a favorite. With Smithers on slide guitar, “Fool” makes for a rootsy, slow-cooked, from-the-heart letter dismantling of a relationship. Delivered with a true Nashville sound and lyrics which cut quite deep, the song hits with a profound honesty. I can’t help but listen to “Waiting” on repeat. Beautifully sung and with Grouws on acoustic guitar, the song’s metronomic timing masterfully builds anxiety as it flawlessly ticks off the passing moments of an event which never comes to be.
Musically and lyrically, Grouws’ debut solo album Music House is very engaging from start to finish. She absolutely shines on this record, adding glimmers of hope to the not-so-glamourous human experience.
For more information about Jeni
Grouws, follow this link to their website:
https://www.jenigrouws.com/
For past Jeni Grouws
reviews on PhillyCheeze’s Rock & Blues Reviews follow this link: https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/search?q=Jeni+Grouws