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HITS Daily Double
THE B-SIDE
JAI UTTAL'S BURN BALM
7/21/21

Veteran musician Jai Uttal has been making devotional music for years, and quite a few listeners whose own cosmologies are a million miles from Jai's have found these records deep and inviting. His latest, Let Me Burn (out 8/4), is intended as "a balm for post-pandemic stress," and if you can get with a great many chanted "hare krishnas" and "hare ramas" (which you probably can if you're any kind of George Harrison fan), you may well find it as soothing as a spa getaway. Moving across the stylistic spectrum, the set incorporates everything from Indian and jazz textures to gospel/soul to country/folk. Opener "Campfire Sri Ram," featuring Kirtan luminaries Deva Premal & Miten, is a particularly lovely excursion. The title cut—which is much closer to a traditional pop song—moves from delicate incantation to an easy groove that recalls Peter Gabriel. If you can surrender yourself to the spiritual sparkle of it all, this is balm indeed.