Mette Juul: Thank You & Other Stories
Nilento Records

The photo of Danish singer-songwriter Mette Juul gracing the cover of her seventh album presents her relatively make-up free and her natural, wide-eyed beauty on full display. Such an image is in keeping with the intimate character of Thank You and Other Stories in augmenting her voice with spare, stripped-down arrangements and presenting her so revealingly. As she has in the past, Juul infuses material rich in Nordic melancholy with subtle inflections of jazz, specifically in the songs she chooses and in her highly personalized delivery. Indicative of the album's range, she complements her own ten pieces with a jazz-tinged treatment of Irving Berlin's “Let's Face the Music and Dance” plus a set-ending cover of Bob Dylan's “To Make You Feel My Love.”

In keeping with the singer-songwriter tradition, the songs express Juul's attempts to make sense of the world and her place within it; the album title references another key theme, specifically gratitude for the good things in our lives and appreciation for the generosity of people who've made them better. It's also about coming to terms with our own imperfections, accepting them in others, and embracing the differences between people rather than seeing them become wedges pulling us apart. A mere scan of the set-list hints at the themes in play when three of the songs are titled “Thank You,” “Lucky,” and “Privileged Life.”

On an album (available in digital, CD, and vinyl formats) that was recorded primarily at Nilento Studio in Gothenberg, with additional recordings made at Village Studio and by Juul at home, she accompanies herself on acoustic guitar and is joined by Peter Rosendal (piano, trombone, Fender Rhodes), multi-instrumentalist Lars Danielsson (cello, double bass, melodica, organ, etc.), and on two songs percussionist Xavier Desandre Navarre. In a musical world filled with over-produced projects, Juul's stands out for the authenticity of its expression.

The recording's tone is established instantly by the haunting “On Dragon Wings” when the dramatic hush of Juul's free-floating voice glides confidently against a delicate backdrop of acoustic guitar, piano, and acoustic bass. The impression of musicians creating together in a small, intimate space is clearly communicated, the set-up conducive to music-making of a wholly genuine kind. Occasionally, Juul augments her lead with backing vocals, a rare production-related embellishment on an album largely free of them.

Her artfulness as a vocal stylist is present throughout, the lilting “Be a Blessing to Someone” a good illustration. With the soft sparkle of Fender Rhodes intoning in the background, the singer segues fluidly between passages that are as much spoken as sung to phrases delivered floridly in a higher register. As a singer, Juul never indulges in vulgar histrionics, but she's not averse to investing a song with deep emotion and character. Particularly affecting in that regard are “Little Devil Blue,” which rises dramatically from softly enunciated verses to soulful declamations in the choruses, and “To a Friend,” where her terrific vocal is nicely complemented by an arrangement sprinkled with organ and melodica.

While “Dream On” is not, thankfully, an Aerosmith cover (even if it would be interesting to see how it might sound in Juul's hands), the jazz-blues-tinged tune is urgent, animated as it is by Danielsson's bass and Rosendal's piano, and features some of Juul's freest vocal delivery. Executed at a slow and sultry tempo, she recasts “Let's Face the Music and Dance” as a romantic invitation that hints at samba in adding bongos to its light swing. The Dylan cover likewise receives an understated, tastefully arranged reading that brings out the best in the song and the singer.

April 2025