Such is the case with California singer-songwriter Jessica Pratt and her latest album, On Your Own Love Again, out this week on Drag City Records. Pratt’s fragile voice, classically-tinged acoustic rhythms, and nuanced lyrical sketches attracted loads of attention and a devoted following that culminated with the release of her self-titled debut album in 2012. As her work was largely tagged under the “freak folk” label that claims artists like Joanna Newsom and Devendra Banhart as patron saints, Pratt also waded through the inevitable Joan Baez/Sandy Denny comparisons, associations that made her bristle and strive for a fresher perspective that reflected the growing ruminations that accompanied her artistic ascent. Unfortunately though, while her career was trending upward, her personal life suffered a series of devastating losses that forced upon her a period of upheaval and reflection, and eventually a self-imposed exile that would result in the creation of this latest album.
“Sophisticated songwriting” – The Guardian
Review
California singer/songwriter Jessica Pratt's self-titled 2012 debut was so
beautifully insular that getting lost inside its soft-spoken songs almost felt
like listening in on a shy but talented housemate practising in the next room.
Her voice had the same sun-weathered rasp as Joni Mitchell, David Crosby, or any
of the strange dreamers of the late-'60s Laurel Canyon scene, but the songs took
on a far more distantly dreamy character, sounding beautiful but just out of
reach in the same muted manner as Sibylle Baier's mysterious 1973 psych-folk
masterpiece Colour Green. With her 2015 follow-up On Your Own Love Again, Pratt
does little to change the hermetic alchemy she began on her debut, offering up
only the subtlest developments to her already mesmerizing style. The
finger-picked acoustic guitar and thinner-than-air vocals of album-opener
“Wrong Hand” are supported by extremely gentle Mellotron pads that fade in
and out of audibility, blending in with equally soft overdubbed harmony vocals
to beautiful effect. Another ear-catching sound comes with the reverb-laden
spare percussion that shows up on the second half of “Game That I Play,”
taking the song out of its heady California folk-rock moods into decidedly Pet
Sounds territory. Tinges of electric guitar and other understated
instrumentation stay deep in the background, making space for Pratt's web of
harmonies to take centre stage. While there are definite highlights – the
soft-hearted and cheekily psychedelic love song “Moon Dude,” the vaguely pop
leanings of “Back, Baby” – the entire album blends into a singular tone.
Between the pleasantly dimming quality of Pratt's home-recorded production, the
sparsity of the instrumentation, and the uniquely captivating nature of her
voice, On Your Own Love Again creates a gentle, glowing atmosphere and invites
the listener to hang out for a while. Without many spikes in volume or energy
level, these murmuring songs generate an undeniably powerful radiance, breaking
down doors creatively despite their understated trappings. Fred Thomas –
Allmusic.com