Essie Jain - We Made This Ourselves

  by Maarten Schiethart

published: 19 / 3 / 2008

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Review

Originally released on Brooklyn's Ba Da Bing Records, London-raised solo musician Essie Jain's debut is now released outside of North America via The Leaf Label which is rapidly becoming the trademark of an excellent taste in music. Sadly enough, an LP release is not(yet) in the can, unlike many other previous Leaf Label releases, even though this concise ten track album very neatly fits such a format. Although nowadays she resides in the Big Apple there's absolutely nothing nuyorican about her either. Her pristine Sandy Dennis inspired vocals remain ever so British. Sarcastic wit, notwithstanding the friendly and polite drain of thoughts, builds the theme for what ultimately is a reflection on relationships gone dire and sour. As she put words eloquently and wrote music so gracefully, the listener automatically chooses to side with Essie Jain. Essie teamed up with guitarist Patrick Glynn, whilst Jim White of The Dirty Three helped her along at a later stage, yet 'We Made This Ourselves' reflects her private thoughts and songs only. I must admit that I felt a little puzzled by the album title. Essie Jain's debut album is highly personal. Her performance is rather exquisite and showcases a neat flow of songs, that rely both on anxiety as well as on maturity. Essie Jain's background, which would stem from a musical family, is of tremendous help here. Almost each time, she would find the right note to go with her 'Songs Of Love And Hate'. Almost.

Track Listing:-

1 Glory
2 Haze
3 Sailor
4 Talking
5 Indefinable
6 Disgrace
7 Give
8 Understand
9 Loaded
10 No Mistake

Label Links:-

http://www.theleaflabel.com/en/index.p
https://www.facebook.com/theleaflabel
https://twitter.com/theleaflabel
https://www.youtube.com/user/theleafla
https://plus.google.com/10909849748304