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Essie Jain - The Inbetween
3.5/5
Words: Zeinab Lenton
As soon as you hit the play button, Essie Jain's rich tones wash over you like warm balm, like soothing hands over a knotted brow.
It's the slower tracks that stand out; Jain's voice is more suited to soft smoky remonstrations, to whispered confidences and hoarse accusations. The Slavic shading of Eavesdrop, the stark and devastating Stop and the sighing release of Weight Off Me are particular highlights.
Elsewhere, as on The Rights, Jain goes too far down that Eastern European route so beloved of a particular strain of alt.folk types (let's not name names). Here, Jain strays into well-trod paths and one can only wait in agony for the inevitable horrors of the piano accordion. Horrors that are, thankfully, fleeting but leave one scarred nonetheless.
Jain's themes and metaphors are pastoral and sweet, homely yet not overly folksy, in the same way that Midlake's Trials Of Van Occupanther evoked hunters, wooded glades and log cabins whilst still, miraculously, sounding modern. The release of this, Jain's second record, is perfectly timed: an ideal accompaniment to walks in golden woods and dreamy afternoons in front of warm fires.
Released: 17.11.08
You can pick up your copy of NARC from almost every music venue in the region as well as record shops, pubs and selected shops. For the full list see OUTLETS in the left panel
