Sparrow has figured out how to write a hit song – a gift so powerful…it doesn’t matter what you label it.
- The Sun – Edmonton, Alberta
At his finest, Jay Sparrow delivers devastatingly perfect barroom country with a ragged punk rock edge.
- EXCLAIM Magazine – Nationwide, Canada
Gunpowder Americana that seems like it was built to be played on an 8-track cassette player, preferably in a Ford pick- up truck with a factory-installed gun rack. And no, that’s not a putdown.
- Georgia Straight Magazine – Vancouver, British Columbia
At first listen, folk rocker Jay Sparrow could draw comparisons to both Jesse Malin and Jeff Buckley. Like those musicians, Sparrow seems to have the innate ability to get to the heart of the song without messing around.
- HERE Magazine – Moncton & Fredericton, New Brunswick
Imagine Johnny Cash with too much ink and a voice that could stop a freight train.
- FYI Music.ca – Toronto, Ontario
Jay Sparrow’s songwriting chops were acknowledged when he won the CBC Great Canadian Song Quest and he lives up to those kudos here.
- The Herald – Calgary, Alberta
Sparrow’s biggest strength comes from his confident, soulful voice that shines throughout the album.
- Gateway Magazine – Edmonton, Alberta
Sparrow and his band offer up some pure Seger goodness. Keys, bass, bended steel and acoustic all ring out behind Sparrow’s confident vocals.
There is no question Sparrow has found a voice and style that suits him well. Arrangements and textures aside, Jay’s biggest skill is that this understated record is full of songs you hold tight, like the stories you tell over and over again when you start downing beers with old friends.
- Hero Hill.com – Halifax, Nova Scotia
I thoroughly enjoyed The Tempest Line which is a six-song record bursting with understated passion… it’s obvious that a lot of strength is contained within the music and lyrics of Sparrow.
- Grayowl Point – Source for Canadian Music Review and News
On “In Our Time”, the Ontario-born, Alberta-based, tattoo sporting, roots singer-songwriter delivers nine timeless tracks… Dark, stark and heartbreakingly gorgeous.
- Winnipeg Free Press – Winnipeg, Manitoba
When Jay Sparrow sings of trouble in his heart on the opener of his latest solo record, it’s hard not to believe him: it sounds like he’s clawing his way out of the rough, muscles straining with every inch closer to the clear. But clear isn’t where Sparrow is here. No, his struggle is still very much evident in the songs he’s penned for The Tempest Line, and it’s the conflict that makes this record so compelling. Well, that and the fact that Sparrow has a firm grasp on how a record should play out.
His songwriting on a distinct upswing as he mines new, rootsier territory while fusing the sound with a rough-and-tumble punk esthetic. ****4 STARS
- VUE Magazine – Edmonton, Alberta
Sparrow’s third release, The Tempest Line, is a gone-before-you-know-it roller-coaster of emotion that rises when you think it should rise, and breaks when it should.
Sparrow’s voice still has enough rasp to make Tim Armstrong take notice, yet he can belt out the smooth notes just as well, all in the same song. The album is deeply poetic.
- The WEAL Magazine – Calgary, Alberta
Sparrow continues to write solid songs and prove that his voice is one we will continue hearing for years and one that warrants our attention.
- Hero Hill.com – Halifax, Nova Scotia
Sparrow’s versatility is evident, but always at the forefront are his lyrics that reel you in. Quite simply, it is an honest recording full of twangy vocals and lyrics that exemplify Sparrow’s strength in songwriting. It’s a great album, one that has encouraged me to dig into Jay Sparrow‘s other work.
- Buying Shots For Bands.com – Toronto, Ontario
Jay Sparrow has a raw honesty in his music that makes it so intensely likable. He never seems to hold back what he feels when he sings, and he also possesses the gift of making a country sound very much accessible to non-country fans. (In Our Time) is a very strong album from an artist that should really be known a lot more than he is currently.
- Grayowl Point – Source for Canadian Music Review and News
Sparrow can still do loud without losing nuance and lyrical cleverness. But the simple bittersweet trio that closes In Our Time covers more introspective ground with an equally lively approach, proof of a songwriter capturing the joyous highs of a creative peak. ****4 STARS
- VUE Magazine – Edmonton, Alberta
Sublime and rich, intricate and fragile, yet minimalist, In Our Time is as confident as it is refined… barren emotion with intellectual lyrics and instinctual instrumentation unheard of since Hayden Desser was a fresh face on the scene.
- FFWD Magazine – Calgary, Alberta
Quivery folk and lurchy blues never sounded so intoxicating from this songbird.
- The Edmonton Journal – Edmonton, Alberta
Not exactly subtle in their delivery, Edmonton’s Jay Sparrow and band play whiskey-soaked “Texas punk” odes to their own demons. [On their album], produced by Gordie Johnson of Big Sugar fame and recorded at Willie Nelson’s own studio in Austin Texas, the Sparrows mix the red-headed stranger’s storytelling with plenty of fire and energy.
- NOW Magazine – Toronto, Ontario