Karen Jonas Releases Carter-Inspired Single “Rich Man’s Valley” Ahead of Seventh Album

Having established herself as a fearless artist and colorful storyteller, Virginia-based Karen Jonas is preparing to release her seventh album, The Rise and Fall of American Kitsch (August 9).

The lead single, “Rich Man’s Valley,” offers an upbeat account of the Carter family’s journey from humble beginnings in Poor Valley, Virginia, to the most revered echelons of country music history. She also launched a new Kickstarter campaign.

“Rich Man’s Valley” victoriously rolls down the mountain like a Model T, accompanied by vibrant guitar, bar piano, violin and a jaunty yodelling chorus. “The Carter family went from barefoot fruit tree salesmen to fame and fortune, truly by the grace of their guts, their voice and their pen,” says Jonas. “They don’t make them like that anymore.”

Jonas plotted The Rise and Fall of American Kitsch before beginning writing for his 2023 release The Restless, which Holler called a “profound exploration of love and vulnerability.” Quietly ambitious and forever writing, Jonas returned to the theme of kitsch just days after the release of The Restless, after seeing Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis 2022 on the plane returning from SXSW. Instead of watching the last hour of the film when it landed, Jonas spit out eight songs over as many days. They will become the heart of The Rise and Fall of American Kitsch.

Some songs on The Rise and Fall of American Kitsch are direct inspirations from Elvis’ story, and others are extensions of the themes. “Four Cadillacs,” bright and fun, comes from a scene where Elvis and his manager sit on a Ferris wheel, dreaming of their potential together. The bluesy “Mama’s Gone” spans Elvis mourning his mother’s death with sweaty, reverb-washed guitar and brass. “Call Dr. Nick” takes on both Elvis’ controversial prescribing doctor and the pharmaceutical industry, slyly selling “cotton candy pills in little orange bottles” atop a swampy, dissonant, led by Jonas on banjo.

“Let’s Go to Hawaii” is a sunny, island-themed track that alludes to both Elvis’ film career and Jonas’ not-so-secret love of Jimmy Buffett. A vintage housewife tries to persuade her husband to take her on vacation, showcasing Jonas’ lyrical prowess: cute but never trite, downright thematic but always unexpected. The piano-infused love song “Gold in the Sand” paints a neon-lit dream picture with the brush of a confident artist.

The record is full of this optimism, a technicolor portrait of vintage magic. But Jonas also sees the shadows: waste, excess, addiction.

“The 1950s gave rise to the concept that we can and should buy things we don’t really need,” says Jonas. “Post-war factories, the baby boom, the suburbs: we began to manufacture an idea of ​​joy that we still sell today.”

“With every new invention and fashion trend, something else ends up in the trash,” she continues. “It keeps me up at night. Our children inherit a shopping habit and a huge pile of trash.

Recorded live in the studio, The Rise and Fall of American Kitsch features longtime collaborator, guitarist Tim Bray at his best, Washington, D.C. staple Benji Porecki’s piano/organ, studio pro’s violin from New York’s Bobby Hawk and Ahren Buchheister’s Pedal Steel. Bassist Seth Morrissey and drummer Ben Tufts blended together like only old friends can. The album is brimming with layered, textured excitement, reminiscent of Emmylou Harris and the Hot Band or Dusty in Memphis, or even Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit.

“I was obsessed with the idea of ​​energy in the room,” Jonas says. “I told everyone we were going to have fun like 1,000 times, and you know what? We were doing.” The intricacies of a tight-knit, song-driven group, with all the mid-session discoveries and snap decisions documented, take The Rise and Fall of American Kitsch’s stellar songwriting to the next level. Listen to the epic “Shake Bump and Grind Show,” a hard-hitting attempt to control Elvis’ sexuality on stage, to hear the band working together in the room.

Ambitious, intelligent, and magnetically retro, The Rise and Fall of American Kitsch will charm you with dazzling, offbeat storytelling, stellar performances, and an adventurous Americana soundscape. It’s nuanced enough that you’ll want to soak it in with front-to-back listens, and fun enough for a road trip soundtrack. With American Kitsch, Karen Jonas is clearly on the rise.

Photo credit: Ryan Poe

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