Jesse Malin - Mona Lisa

  by Geraint Jones

published: 24 / 7 / 2004

Label: One Little Inidan
Format: CDS

intro

Americana-inflected rock 'n' roll of the highest order from Jesse Malin, which finds him abandoning some of his previous Ryan Adam associations and much more asserting his own voice

‘Mona Lisa’, the first single from Jesse Malin’s second album, ‘The Heat’ is a cracking sub-three minute pop nugget, at the heart of which lie his almost stream of consciousness New York lowlife-inspired lyrics. Lauded almost as much for his Ryan Adams associations as for any perceived talent of his own at the time of the release his Adams-produced solo debut, ‘The Fine Art Of Self-Destruction’ - on the evidence provided by the three tracks to be found here Jesse Malin has made a giant leap forward from that and made an assertive statement that he’s a considerable artist in his own right. Taking into account that ‘The Fine Art Of Self-Destruction’ was a decent enough album anyway the exceptional quality of the performances and songwriting on the three tracks featured here bodes very well as a guide to the potential quality of the album. Malin asserts much more of his own voice here and sounds more confident, inspired and indeed inspirational as a result – much better in fact than Ryan Adams recent output; a man who sadly seems to be increasingly losing his sense of direction. This is grade A-quality Americana-inflected rock 'n' roll of the highest order and I’ve already added ‘The Heat’ to my wants list as a result and unreservedly suggest that you do likewise.

Track Listing:-