Autumn Fallin - Jaymay Album Review

Photo Credit:Rebecca Lewis

Album Review

Folk has never been the most fashionable of genres of music to listen to, but in terms of sincerity and understated beauty, it often carries the most memorable musical moments. JayMay's whispered lyrics tell a well painted story of her life, and the album never screams for attention, but manages to slowly grab it overtime. Make no mistake, this album isn't instantly gratifying, and like the best folk records will take several listens to establish its place in your memory's musical archives.

It's hard to explain why I like JayMay's debut album, 'Autumn Fallin', quite as much as I do. Her lyrics and vocals, while undoubtedly sincere and pleasant to listen to, are by no means ground breaking, and she never really puts either to the test by breaking her whispered formula. I get the impression that JayMay has an incredible range, and she hints at this in the climax to 'Ill Willed Person' but for the majority of the album the vocals play it reasonably safe. Likewise while I could comfortably take any track off the album (excluding the painful 1930s genre leap to 'Hard to Say', which at just under two minutes long still manages to majorly outstays its welcome) and say they're 'good', I'd be hard pushed to say any of them strike me as truly outstanding.

And yet, as an album it hangs together remarkably well: even the aforementioned 'Hard to Say' is well positioned: immediately after the emotionally exhausting 9 minutes of 'You'd Rather Run' as a kind of long-song antidote. At her best, JayMay's blend of folk and Americana evokes Ryan Adams' songwriting, and this is aided by the lush string filled arrangement of stand out track 'Blue Skies'. At 42 minutes long, the album is amongst the shortest I've heard (especially considering one track takes up a quarter of that time), but like the best albums you find yourself returning to the start after the last notes of closing track 'You Are The Only One I Love' drift dreamily into the distance.

'Autumn Fallin' is, if nothing else, perfectly titled. It's a melancholy yet beautiful collection of songs which seem to evoke the Autumn surroundings of her native New York with every note. It's not exactly upbeat, and it seems like no coincidence that three out of the ten tracks contain the word 'blue', but in the cold of winter, those who like to bathe in folky melancholy will find this just the ticket. The songs slowly slip into your subconscious and, like the past relationships JayMay recollects through her lyrics, you ultimately find yourself missing them when they're not around.

Alan Martin