There are times when I wish I had my finger on the pulse of life. Well not really, but someone should feel the lifeblood pulsing through the veins of the here and now and perhaps that is Jessica Woodlee. Her album “Jess” certainly suggests that she might be capable of doing just that.
Given the subjects of her songs, I must assume that she is young yet these songs have the polish and lack of rough edges that might be expected of a seasoned performer. Are these also the songs of a serious songwriter? Certainly, Jessica Woodlee isn’t really giving us poetry here with her words, whilst often seeming much more personal than plastic, being tied firmly to the fencepost of reality but, equally, I can’t argue with her stylistic choices as her stories are told with an honesty that seems filtered only by her heart.
From a notes and chords point of view, her songs sound commercial yet they aren’t really commercial in the sense that commercial is generally used these days. Songs that people can relate to are often classed as commercial, and so they should be, although such songs are often more like contrived attempts to entertain. Jessica Woodlee, on the other hand, demonstrates that she has what it takes to put more into a song in order to make it sound real. Add in some supportive arrangements and her precisely controlled and simultaneously vulnerable voice and I would say that the end result is an album that does actually sound authentic. Not many albums could be accused of that these days and, in consequence, this album might well prove to have a relevance, on a less than trivial level, to an audience consisting of more than people who haven’t yet mortgaged their life away.
Oddly enough, despite the proliferation of pathos, introspection and broken hearts in these thirteen songs, “Jess” still sounds like an album full of hope. I like that because I like happy endings. And happy beginnings too.
Best song: “Dude” – a quirky modern day love song.
Verdict: Pretty in pink pathos.