Penny & Sparrow

Track	Album
Just And Just As	Tenboom
Recuerda	Finch
Jeopardy	Lefty
Cheyenne	Olly Olly
Undress	Struggle Pretty
Valjean	Tenboom
Don’t Wanna Be Without Ya …	Horse Color Two
Honest Wage	Struggle Pretty
Bread And Bleeding	Struggle Pretty
Patience, First	Tenboom

This ten-track selection is in order of preference, starting with the #1 choice

Kyle Jahnke (left) and Andy Baxter
Promo photo by Daniel N. Johnson

Introduction

I got into soul music in my late teens. I would pore over the reviews in Blues & Soul magazine. I remember listening in awe to Sam Dees’ After All, a family courtroom drama and still the most devastating six minutes of soul of my lifetime. Richard Searling had introduced me to Sam’s music on his Soul Sauce show on Red Rose Radio.

Through that magazine and local radio, I found Regina Belle and Al Broomfield, the Perri sisters and Magic Lady. At home or whilst studying away, I would head for the best independent record shops in Manchester or London to add to my collection. There was always something new and exciting waiting to be discovered. I would play my records to my (handful of mostly passive) listeners on University Radio Essex. Most folk on campus had never heard of any of it, but my case of vinyl was my treasure trove.

Thirty years later, I was still searching. Only now, and as my musical tastes had drifted, the internet enabled a new wave of digital discovery.

Penny & Sparrow

In my experience, there has never been a fallow period for music – only those years, or decades, in which I hunted for more or less than usual. I stumbled upon Penny & Sparrow on Bandcamp in 2016, probably browsing for alt-folk. I’d been rebuilding my vinyl collection for four years, relying upon a bundled download code to grow a corresponding digital version. Regularly disappearing down a genre-inspired rabbit hole, unwilling or unable to reappear without some nugget. This time around, I found the debut Penny & Sparrow album, Tenboom.

Penny & Sparrow is Andy Baxter and Kyle Jahnke. Neither is Penny, nor Sparrow. The duo originates from Austin, TX. Their music is a modern kind of folk, sometimes spiritual, with gentle harmonies.

The Songs

#10 Patience, First (2013)

Andy Baxter tells a story of hurt and pride in little more than a string interlude. A soulful introduction to the duo’s music, Andy’s voice here recalls Donny Hathaway.

Chimney lips and all, please come home

#9 Bread And Bleeding (2014)

First of two in a row from the Struggle Pretty record. Apart from the duo’s debut, it is my favourite Penny & Sparrow album. This track has a euphoric folk sound driven by a lively violin.

#8 Honest Wage (2014)

A story of a one-sided sibling rivalry or envy, delivered by Andy & Kyle in perfect harmony. Don’t be put off by the brooding start, our brother soon expresses himself:

He’s the one who left home
I’m the one who stayed

#7 Don’t Wanna Be Without Ya (Friend Group Remix) (2021)

Same but different. The Horse Color Two remix album took the duo’s contemporary folk onto the dancefloor. Don’t Wanna Be Without Ya first featured on the Finch studio album. This version is a million miles away from the original, but in a way that proves to be irresistible.

#6 Valjean (2013)

Being Jean Valjean, he of Les Misérables. I have neither read the book nor seen the stage production, but this song inspires me to pursue Victor Hugo’s novel.

Pardon me sir
I’m gonna go get her
And you have to let me go

#5 Undress (2014)

The duo’s lyrics often appear to deal with faith and doubt and are endlessly fascinating. Undress is about leaving behind or escaping from someone or something, but what – a human relationship, or God? The song builds to a triumphant and decisive conclusion – our character is better off alone.

Empty rooms are honest places

#4 Cheyenne (2022)

A reference to the George Strait country song. Picture yourself in a truck, aimed toward that Wyoming line and I dare you not to tap your feet.

Audible poppin’ of static
Bang on the dash outta habit
Baby, if I hurry I can make Cheyenne

#3 Jeopardy (2025)

The duo has described this song on Facebook as “about knowing someone perfectly”, but I read more into it. They show without telling, and I hear a delicate song about living with a partner whose memory is fading. Listened to in that context, Jeopardy is like an arrow through the heart.

#2 Recuerda (2019)

Another of Andy’s finest performances. There’s an extraordinary vocal sequence just after the one-minute mark, a gentle descent from falsetto which reminds me upon every listen, here is a master at work.

#1 Just And Just As (2013)

Track one, side one on the first Penny & Sparrow album, Tenboom. Not an easy listen by any means but enormously rewarding. Dead slow and intensely spiritual. The beautiful cover art with pencil drawing – and the title of the album – are inspired by Corrie ten Boom.

Near Misses

In October 2025, I counted down my top fifteen Penny & Sparrow songs daily on Bluesky. I posted the following honourable mentions.

#11 Bishop – Finch (2019)
#12 Serial Doubter – Struggle Pretty (2014)
#13 Salome & Saint Procula – Wendigo (2017)
#14 Finery – Let A Lover Drown You (2016)
#15 Eloise – Finch (2019)

Tour

Penny & Sparrow kicks off a European tour in Berlin on October 31, 2025. There are four dates in the UK.

Biography

When I was a small boy, every Saturday night, Dad would wake me in time for Match Of The Day. Between bedtime and the start of the programme, Dad would’ve bought a big bag of chips for us to enjoy whilst watching the highlights.

Mum would have her headphones on during the football, listening to Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, perhaps One Of These Nights or Sundown, Poco’s Head Over Heels or the Doobie Brothers. I was fascinated by the record covers.

Nearly half a century down the line and Mum’s records are part of my collection. When anyone asks me about my best ever albums, it’s often those that she handed down. Mum is 77 now. A couple of years ago, I found her the perfect stocking-filler – Head Over Heels and Rose Of Cimarron on one bumper CD. A token gift from a mother’s son for a lifetime of music.