You don’t need me to tell you that this particular law enforcer has served up yet another meaty helping of genius. It’s what we expect. So here she is, over-delivering again on her 12th album. A salve for the soul, Joan Wasser’s delicious voice and masterful songwriting are woefully underexposed and appreciated. But, actually, that’s not a bad thing – let’s keep her secret for now.
One of her many skills is how intimate her delivery is, how she makes you feel she is confiding just in you, baring her soul because she just knows you’ve shared the same experiences. She soldiers on while the seemingly AI-generated dross blasts from every shop, car and phone. She sees no need for the vocal histrionics favoured by Ellie Goulding, Sia, Katy Perry and the like.
“I was ready to make an album that truly featured my voice,” she says. “The basics were recorded like they used to be – with me singing live along with the band. My good friend told me this is the sexiest album I’ve ever made. Honestly, I think she’s right.” Her ‘band’ is impressive. Meshell Ndegeocello (John Mellencamp, Herbie Hancock, Madonna) plays bass, Chris Bruce (Trevor Horn, Alanis Morisette, Sheryl Crow) on guitar, Daniel Mintseris (St Vincent, David Byrne, Marianne Faithfull) on keys and ex-Black Beetle band mate Parker Kindred (Jeff Buckley, Antony and the Johnsons) and Otto Hauser (Toni Visconti, Sharon Van Etten) taking turns on drums.
With that kind of musicianship forming the foundation, perhaps the ultimate childless cat lady is free to kick back and let her inimitable, stylish vocals shine. Beginning with the gentle tinkle of her ivories, “The Dream” sets the tone. All of these songs need an investment of time. They are complicated, nuanced, grown up. The single “Back Again” couldn’t be by anyone else – it’s classic Joan. And sultry “Full Time Heist” is a masterful dissection of an unbalanced and unrewarding relationship. (How is possible to make the word heist sound quite so sinful?) “With Hope on My Breath” feels like a manifesto – ‘and the answer is yes’. “Long for Ruin” speaks to the terrible state of the world and how we’re sleepwalking even further into the depths. But we have the mind to change – now’s not the time to hesitate. A slow, lilting retro guitar riff adds piquancy. “Started Off Free” has a masterful key change in the chorus which is hard not to engage with – “you love me like I’m cushion-cut yeah, you love me like I’m worth it.”
It’s all going along excellently and then you get to the title track, which raises the bar even higher. It’s exquisite – quietly yearning, delicately repetitive but absolutely hypnotic. And for something so gentle in its manifestation it has huge power. Truly a remarkable piece – a kind of whispered response to Buckley’s version of Allellujah. “One day I feel like butter and the next I’m more aligned with the knife.” “Tribute to Holding On” is yet another beautiful love song, given extra impact when it cuts away intermittently allowing a “heartbeat” to sound.
There’s much more to immerse yourself in here. I feel quite inadequate in describing this triumphant return. Just dive in and float towards Joan’s “impossibly gorgeous shore”.
