North Carolina-based folk singer-songwriter Jane Kramer is back with her second album, Carnival Of Hopes, releasing next week. Though she was first part of the all-female folk quartet Barrel House Mamas, Kramer has honed her craft as a solo singer-songwriter. Pulling from her roots as a mountain-made musician, she zeroes in on Americana elements like folksy instrumentation while giving her lyrics center stage.

The album’s title track pairs with a pretty music video in which images of a turning carousel make way for Kramer singing in a windowsill, interacting with a lover, and unveiling a carousel–a powerful image that holds a lot of emotion–which becomes the motif throughout the entire song. While her sweet but aching voice sings the chorus, “But I lay down my hammer/I will lay down my busted carnival of hopes/Because well/I ain’t getting any younger”, soft, ethereal lighting frames scenes of Kramer singing passionately while revolving around the now-working carousel. Her vocals swing in-and-out of musical emoting and sing-song speaking, making the words more personal because she begins to have a conversation with the listener.

The video is the optimal set for such a nostalgic, profound song, and is only enhanced by the actual music; Kramer’s voice is so smooth it melts into her own guitar-playing and violin overlays.

Check out the video for “Carnival Of Hopes” below and connect with Jane Kramer on Facebook:

~Savannah Davanzo