JACK River’s debut Sugar Mountain is at once intensely emotional and a shiny fabrication. It’s taken the Forster artist, real name Holly Rankin, five years to build this songbook which aims to paint an alternate childhood from her own, which was marred by the death of her 11-year-old sister.
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The singles Ballroom, Fault Line and Fool’s Gold and album track Confess are sparkly pop relics from an early 2000s teen movie soundtrack. There’s also a massive dose of Gwen Stefani on the almost pop-country Limo Song.
These tracks display River’s knack of writing pop hooks, but elsewhere, she reveals the real Holly Rankin. River is at her most vulnerable on the epic Fields and Her Smile is a dreamy lullaby laced with dark foreboding.
Josh Leeson
Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league.
Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league.
