I Want To Rock And Roll. Jazmine Mary

With 'The Licking Of A Tangerine' Australian/New Zealand artist Jazmine Mary (they/them) came into my life in 2021 and the album never left it again. Over the years I found myself returning to the album time and again. Following album 'Dog' received a very positive review but sort of disappeared from my consciousness. Now in (our) late spring there's a new album and I've found myself putting it on quite regularly.

If there are developments in Jazmine Mary's music, they are subtle. As subtle as most of their songs are. Take 'Narcotics Anonymous Meeting', the second song on I Want To Rock And Roll. The tempo is slow, without being able to call the song a ballad. It is more jazzy, of the night hawks at the diner kind. You will find a clarinet, subtle guitar work and a drumkit that is caressed instead of played. Over it all Jazmine Mary takes her time to drag you into 'Narcotics Anonymous Meeting' and the album itself. They sing as slow and leisurely as the whole song is. No matter how serious the topic is, they take their time to tell the story and the musicians give them all the time in the world.

It is the standard of I Want To Rock And Roll I've described here. The title song is at the very end of the album and may be a promise for the future or a deeply felt desire, that they for now are incapable of fulfilling. I'm not concerned, as I am totally okay with what is on offer today. There is a time for everything and when I will put on this album in the future, as I most certainly will, it is for moments that I do not want to rock and roll.

In my first review of Jazmine Mary's work, I compared their music to Aldous Harding and Reb Fountain. Things are simple here as well. There is no reason to really change my tune, although Reb Fountain has explored some new avenues on her recent album 'How Love Bends'. Jazmine Mary explores some more mystique in 'Back Of The Bar'. No matter what, things remain subtle. Soft woodwinds meander through the song. In 'It's All' there are a few Jazmine Marys singing to me in differently pitched voices. Again, musically things can remain on the one hand simple, but listen more closely and all sort of atmospherics are added by different instruments, besides that few notes guitar part that goes on all throughout the song.

With their music Jazmine Mary hovers somewhere between late night bar jazz, alternative pop and ballads. It is of the kind that allows me to lock out everything else, when I'm in the mood to do so. In these moments there is not much else I need. I Want To Rock And Roll? Not today, thank you.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order I Want To Rock And Roll here:

https://jazminemary.bandcamp.com/album/i-want-to-rock-and-roll