A slow-motion wave of percussion gently nudges forth a beat in the opening bars of “Moving Mountains” that will serve as the perfect backdrop to Jennifer Truesdale’s immaculate singing, but for as majestic a melodic soundscape as we find in this track, “Moving Mountains” is only one of the ten chill-inducing songs to be enjoyed on Truesdale’s new album, Through the Circle. Studded with textured harmonies often as strong as the autumn wind, the compositions included on Through the Circle are surprisingly adept and highly accessible to listeners with a taste for jazz, blues or soft pop, and although it’s not the only indie disc worthy of lauding this season, it’s absolutely become one of my personal favorites.
URL: https://www.jennifertruesdale.com/
The guitar and piano parts that we find in Jennifer Truesdale’s new LP, and especially those in “Have You Ever Seen the Rain,” leadoff track “I Need You Tonight” and the smoky “Sunrise,” are a major component in the cocktail of harmonies that have the most haunting effect in Through the Circle. There’s not a lot of virtuosity here, but there doesn’t need to be – in keeping things mostly simple in structure, Truesdale magnifies the subtleties in her music better than most any of her peers have this year.
https://open.spotify.com/album/70gYb3wMNVPjPyrqfgXvFF
From beginning to end, there aren’t any skippable songs in this tracklist, but the vocal performances in the cover of “Love the One You’re With” and “Daydreaming” struck me as being the most memorable of any here. There’s so much emotion, so much undebatable swagger, and yet Truesdale never descends into the grips of arrogance (quite the contrary, truth be told). She’s coming in pretty hot in these two songs, both of which could be worthwhile singles, and displaying a love of rhythm and rhyme that is pumped up with a lot more moxie than I normally hear out of a greenhorn recording artist.
“We Will Not Be Forgotten,” “My Life” and “Thinking of You” all have a live-feel to their framework, and I’m convinced that they would sound even more compelling in an improvisational set than they already do in this album. Jennifer Truesdale gives us a really good idea about who she is as an artist in Through the Circle, but it’s highly probable that audiences will never completely be able to appreciate her aesthetic without seeing her on the stage for themselves. If her charisma and presence were to carry over from the studio, hers would be a tough show to beat this November, or any time of year really.
I-TUNES: https://music.apple.com/us/album/through-the-circle/1457873799?app=itunes
I’m looking forward to hearing more from Jennifer Truesdale as she finds her footing in the modern international music circuit, and as long as she continues to submit harmonious efforts as forward-thinking and fun to listen to as Through the Circle is, she’s going to be making a lot more headlines from here on out. From “I Need You Tonight” to “My Life,” this LP is a great autumn gem from a songwriter poised to make a big impact on 2020, and if you want to find out what all of the buzz has been about, I’d recommend obtaining your copy sooner than later.
Jodi Marxbury