Owls, Omens and Oracles

Owls, Omens and Oracles
Studio album by Valerie June
Released	April 11, 2025 (2025-04-11)
Genre	Pop [1]
Length	47:17
Label	Concord
Producer	M. Ward
Valerie June chronology
The Moon and Stars: Prescriptions for Dreamers (2021) Owls, Omens and Oracles (2025)
Singles from Owls, Omens and Oracles
"Joy, Joy!" Released: February 4, 2025

Owls, Omens and Oracles is the sixth studio album by American singer Valerie June. ^[2] It was released on April 11, 2025, by Concord Records. ^[1]

Background

The album was produced by M. Ward and consists of fourteen songs, including the lead single, "Joy, Joy!", ^[3] which was released on February 4, 2025, alongside a music video directed by Taylor Washington. ^[4] The album incorporates elements of folk, blues, gospel, and soul, and features collaborators such as the Blind Boys of Alabama and Norah Jones. ^[2]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
The Guardian
Paste	8.0/10

Timothy Monger of AllMusic described Owls, Omens and Oracles as "a textured, grungy-sounding album, full of melody, soul, and inspired songwriting." ^[1] The Guardian rated the album four out of five stars and stated "The Tennessee singer-songwriter's joyful new album pushes back against the bleakness of doomscrolling." ^[5] Paste Magazine assigned it a rating of 8.0 out of ten, calling the album "a necessary reminder missing from swaths of contemporary music that happiness is just as potent a tool for beating back the darkness as anger." ^[6]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Valerie Hockett; "Superpower" written with DJ Cavem Moetavation.

Owls, Omens and Oracles track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Joy, Joy!"	3:01
2.	"All I Really Wanna Do"	2:43
3.	"Endless Tree"	3:53
4.	"Inside Me"	2:22
5.	"Trust the Path"	4:33
6.	"Love Me Any Ole Way"	3:15
7.	"Changed" (featuring the Blind Boys of Alabama)	2:05
8.	"Superpower"	2:20
9.	"Sweet Things Just for You"	2:37
10.	"I Am in Love"	3:36
11.	"Calling My Spirit"	2:02
12.	"My Life Is a Country Song"	2:39
13.	"Missin' You (Yeh Yeh)"	3:26
14.	"Love and Let Go"	4:25
Total length:		47:17

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal. ^[7]

Musicians

• Valerie June – vocals (all tracks), acoustic guitar (tracks 1–7, 10, 12, 14), clapping (6), banjo (12)
• M. Ward – electric guitar (tracks 1–10, 12, 13), acoustic guitar (2, 3, 6, 9, 10, 12, 13); glockenspiel, piano (2); background vocals (6, 13), clapping (6), marimba (14)
• Kaveh Rastegar – bass guitar (tracks 1–10, 12, 14)
• Stephen Hodges – drums (tracks 1–10, 12, 14), percussion (1–4, 7, 12)
• Nate Walcott – string arrangement (tracks 1–3, 7, 8, 12), horn arrangement (1, 5–8, 14), keyboards (1), Hammond organ (2–4, 7, 8, 12), piano (2, 5–7, 10, 14), trumpet (5–8, 14), clapping (6)
• Vanessa Freebairn-Smith – cello (tracks 1–3, 7, 12)
• Luanne Homzy – viola, violin (tracks 1–3, 7, 12)
• Paul Cartwright – viola, violin (tracks 1–3, 7, 12)
• Zach Delanger – viola, violin (tracks 1–3, 7, 12)
• Sylvain Carton – baritone saxophone (tracks 1, 5–7, 14)
• Josh Johnson – tenor saxophone (tracks 1, 5–7, 14)
• Vikram Devasthali – trombone (tracks 1, 5–7, 14)
• The Blind Boys of Alabama – background vocals (track 7)
• DJ Cavem Moetavation – programming (track 8)
• Norah Jones – background vocals (track 9)

Technical

• M. Ward – production
• Greg Calbi – mastering
• Steve Fallone – mastering
• Kennie Takahashi – mixing (tracks 1–12, 14)
• Pierre de Reeder – mixing (track 13), engineering (all tracks)
• Case Newcomb – engineering (track 7)
• Jamie Landry – engineering (track 9)
• Dani Bennett Spragg – editing

References

1. Monger, Timothy. "Owls, Omens, And Oracles – Valerie June". AllMusic . Retrieved April 11, 2025.
2. Pearis, Bill (February 4, 2025). "Valerie June Announces New Album Owls, Omens, And Oracles & Shares "Joy, Joy!" Video". BrooklynVegan . Retrieved April 11, 2025.
3. Murray, Robin (February 4, 2025). "Valerie June Announces New Album Owls, Omens, And Oracles". Clash Magazine . Retrieved April 11, 2025.
4. Pickard, Joshua (February 4, 2025). "Valerie June Announces New Album, Shares Video for Lead Single "Joy, Joy!"". Beats Per Minute . Retrieved April 11, 2025.
5. Simpson, Dave (April 11, 2025). "Valerie June: Owls, Omens and Oracles Review – a Soul-Recharging Exercise in Radical Positivity". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved April 11, 2025.
6. Crump, Andy. "Valerie June Teaches Us New Ways to Resist on Owls, Omens and Oracles". Paste Magazine . Retrieved April 11, 2025.
7. "Owls, Omens, and Oracles / Valerie June / Credits". Tidal. April 11, 2025. Retrieved April 20, 2025.