Estelle Clifford: Jenny Mitchell - Forest House

‘Forest House’ is the latest album to come from NZ Best Country Artist Winner Jenny Mitchell.  

In her own words, the album is filled with songs that reflect everything that happens within the four walls of a house – new beginnings, endings, the good, bad, nostalgic, and everything in between. 

Estelle Clifford joined Jack Tame to share her thoughts on the release, as well as a personal anecdote. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame podcast
from News Talks at Me.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
I am a teacher, patient kind watching and wonders you
learn and fine hom and teacher and the teacher is watching.

Speaker 3 (00:31):
Oh I am soldier margin to keep you say from
the lives whispers and Cheet'm soldier episoldier is what you need.

Speaker 4 (00:45):
This song is called Sister. It's by Jenny Mitchell and
it features the Mitchell Sisters. Her new album is Forest
House and Estelle. Clifford has been listening and is with
us this morning.

Speaker 5 (00:57):
Hey, how Hello, what a cool sound. Yeah, it's called
Sister and it is sung with her sisters, the Mitchell Twins,
who she also gets to go on tour and perform with.
And it's just that beautiful. I mean I've said it
many many times before, but the old sibling or family
harmonies that goes ah. Their voice is just rock. And

(01:19):
we're just embracing all things country because that's where we're at,
a like, the country music world is just skyrocketing off
the planet and curedos to that here in New Zealand
because we've always had some incredible stars doing country music.
And Jenny Mitchell is definitely one of those people who
is leading away beautiful song harmonizing, amazing natural pairing. It's just, yeah,

(01:42):
it's wonderful. This is a really cool body of work
for her. I follow Jenny right from the beginning, and
I think in this album she's really honed her craft.
She's honed her storytelling, and again that's what country music is, right. Yeah,
just wonderful lyrics, but not so many. I don't think
she does the country cliche things so much. I think
she's quite clever with what she does. And I really

(02:06):
like that because at first you were taken away with
the beautiful maladies and the beautiful guitar strumming and there's
banjo in there, just melodically it's so beautiful. But then
you start sinking into those lyrics and they're clever and
they're really great. There's a great song on here actually
called Daffodils, and it's kind of about the passing of
time and the passage of time, and it's actually a

(02:27):
jeweyt she does with her dad and he is sounding
all Johnny Cash on it. Yeah, Like I was like, Wow,
this guy's got an incredible voice. One of the lines
is it's hard to live quicker than age.

Speaker 4 (02:38):
Oh yeah, and when you know.

Speaker 5 (02:40):
It's a song she's doing with her dad as well,
it just adds this whole other emotional level. And I
think that's something she has embraced so beautifully in this album.
There's a real raw, vulnerable, but emotional connection. Because Forest House,
she's embracing all the things that have made up her life,
very connected to her wrote. There's some real rural southern

(03:00):
kind of picture painting and some of the music that
you'll hear so just a really cool It starts off
quite quite chill and quite you know, like that sort
of chill kind of vibe, but we get into some
real upbeat tempost sort of stuff in some real country
Twain just going to Nashville, you know, in some of
the songs as well, So it's not you know, I
think she's really played and enjoyed what she's doing in

(03:23):
the album, and you'll really hear it's some fabulous, just
real imagery I think with her lyrics, really take yourself
to a place, which I think is great where the
water is cold. This is a song you're going to
play when we finished chading gospel bluesy imagine like a
slow writhing dance crowd in a smoky basement bar like
it's got that.

Speaker 4 (03:43):
They're kind of bluesy.

Speaker 5 (03:44):
Country thing about it. Sharp lyrics, real cool vocal play,
and lots of energy and moonshine. There's plenty of mention
of moonshine.

Speaker 4 (03:51):
So a few in there, but not it sounds amazing.
I mean in voices and voices incredible? Am I right
in thinking that you were in a video back in
the day?

Speaker 1 (04:04):
I was.

Speaker 5 (04:05):
She did that song where Tammy Nielsen Trouble finds a Goal, Yeah,
and invited a whole lot of muso friends and things
and I turned up, Yeah, and they're like, we want
you all to sing and clap along and do this
like sort of in the round circle harmony thing, and
we're going to film it. It was just very empowering,
and again, I think that's kind of what country music does.

(04:25):
That embraces people, and it brings you in and it's
a family and you feel empowered. And it was a
really cool night actually, But I wasn't you know that
thing where you're like, am I supposed to be here
amongst these wonderful musicians? But I rubed as many shoulders
as I could of course.

Speaker 4 (04:40):
Okay, So what did you give it?

Speaker 5 (04:42):
Its a ten out of ten?

Speaker 4 (04:43):
Ah, how good out? Okay for forest No, no, no,
I think I was. I think I was very good.

Speaker 3 (04:49):
Right.

Speaker 4 (04:49):
I'm gonna keep moving so we can have a bit
more of a listener in a couple of minutes. Thank
you so much, as Stelle. Ten out of ten for
Forest House by Jenny Mitchell. Of course. You can hear
more of Jennie Mitchell on the new iHeart Country app
and channel on the iHeart Music app, as well six
to twelve on news doorgs.

Speaker 1 (05:05):
He'd be for more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame.
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