Texan Jess Williamson makes music that straddles the edges of country and folk. The singer's fourth album, Sorceress, drops on Mexican Summer on Friday, and it's a fairly solid collection of down-tempo gems.
"As the Birds Are" reveals a debt owed to both Judee Sill and Nanci Griffith, while "Wind on Tin" is more obviously catchy. The number is, like some of Angel Olsen's stuff, what I'd call commercial in sound, if not sensibility. It's the kind of music that gets pegged as indie, but it's every bit as direct and affecting as anything you're going to hear on any station, you know? Elsewhere, "Infinite Scroll" is even better, a faint hint of rhythm-and-blues working its way through the supple guitar-lines here, while "Gulf of Mexico" is stark and elegant, like Emmylou Harris's best numbers.
It would be tempting and far too easy to lump Jess Williamson's material in with that of Weyes Blood and Angel Olsen. And while there are some similarities, Williamson's adept at making this rather simple kind of song-craft soar. From the moments that are relatively subdued, and on to the few where things feel like they're about to unfurl with more emotion, this brand of restrained alt-country works pretty well here. And Sorceress isn't a dramatically risky album, but it is a reliably affecting one, and one which is full of music that's tuneful and smart.
Sorceress is out on Friday via Mexican Summer.
More details on Jess Williamson via the official website, or the official Facebook page.
[Photo: Kathryn Vetter Miller]