Saturday, February 23, 2008

Move over Feist: Meet JayMay



I don't know what it is about me, but I've always been a tough critic when it comes to chick vocalists. In my music collection, I'd estimate that less than 5% of my CDs are from female vocalists. I'll always be a fan of The Sundays, Natalie Merchant, and Hope Sandoval, but generally, I really have to be moved by a CD to get into it. I never really got into the Lily Allen CD that I was told would be the next big thing, I freakin despise Amy Winehouse, and I just couldn't jump on the whole Feist bandwagon. Their music really does nothing for me.

Perhaps because it's a lazy Saturday morning, perhaps because I'm in a really good mood, or perhaps because it arrived in my mailbox at the end of a hectic week, like a little postcard from the karma gods understanding just how I'd been feeling, for some reason from the first line of the first song to the last line of the last song, I love this disc.

So here's a piece of the press release:
New York City songstress Jaymay has confirmed a March 11th U.S. release for her debut full length Autumn Fallin' on Blue Note Records.

Currently touring the UK where Heavenly Recordings has released Autumn Fallin' to slew of 4-star reviews (see below), Jaymay got her start at a NYC open mic night in 2003. Soon after she was invited to play at various Lower East Side venues such as Pianos, Mercury Lounge, and her much buzzed about (and oversold) Living Room Residency, which moved Gothamist to gush "Girls with Guitars are everywhere in this city, but this one --like a siren--was pulling people into this room and leaving them silent, speechless even. Shocked and lulled into a stupor."

Jaymay eschewed the inevitable and numerous label offers that came in the wake of these shows, opting to self-release the beautiful Sea Green See Blue EP, which scored an "indie spotlight" on iTunes and frequent rotation on Los Angeles' influential KCRW. She then began work on Autumn Fallin’, a song cycle that vividly details the story of a New York City relationship gone south for the winter.

Ultimately, EMI made her an offer she creatively couldn't refuse, resulting in perfect homes at Heavenly Records in the UK and Blue Note here in the states.

Since then, Jaymay (born Jamie Kristine Seerman) has taken up residence in London, touring Europe and the UK with the likes of Bright Eyes, Jose Gonzales, Caribou, and Okkervil River.

I'm on my second listen through as I type and I still can't put my finger on why this chick is getting through to me, but I'm really digging it.

You can check out an MP3 HERE, her MySpace HERE, or her official site HERE.

"It's not that I hate you; I never loved you enough to hate you."

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

How about Lucinda Williams? =)