I've Got Me

Theres not a lot of pretense to the songs of Joanna Sternberg. The New Yorker is about as open and vulnerable as a singer/songwriter gets, relating their fears, anxieties, and hopes in such a direct manner it courts discomfort for the listener. But then there are their melodies. A former jazz session bassist from an old family of New York creatives, Sternbergs musicality is more aligned with Scott Joplin, Charles Mingus, or Randy Newman than anything from the contemporary world. Likewise, their arrangements are thoughtful, but spare and almost old-fashioned. Ive Got Me is Sternbergs sophomore album, following 2019s Then I Try Some More, which, after first being released by Conor Obersts Team Love imprint was later picked up and given wider distribution by Fat Possum Records. A multi-instrumentalist with an innate understanding of classic American songcraft, Sternberg opens the set with "Ive Got Me," a poignant title track that could also double as their mission statement. Over a gently strummed acoustic guitar, they sing, "Ive got me in the morning, Ive got me in the evening, Ill let you be, because Ive got me." As the brief song continues, it becomes clear that Sternbergs own crowded mind is a hive of self-doubt and perceived failures in constant battle with the self-awareness of trying to reconcile them. The melody could have come from Stephen Foster and the message is heartbreakingly relatable to practically any human being. The standout "Mountains High" is essentially a slowed-down piano rag devoted to the daily struggle of overcoming our own shadows. The songs are sad but also joyously robust and full of the conflicting emotions of simply being alive. Occasionally, Sternberg breaks from the albums vintage folk-jazz feel, but even on the lo-fi indie rock takedown "People Are Toys to You," or the sharply bluesy "The Human Magnet Song," the melodies are hooky and sit neatly among their more pastoral partners. Like a folky, more rough-hewn Blossom Dearie, Sternbergs quavering voice will not please everyone and their musical palette is delightfully out of step with the times, but their candor and warmth of character are universal. ~ Timothy Monger