On her fourth album, west coast artist Jessica Pratt expands the scope of her artistry, placing her sharpest songs to date within an ever-broadening pool of influences including spectral & 60s pop, Hollywood psychedelia and bossa nova. Whereas Pratt's 2019 record, ‘Quiet Signs’, floated elegantly in the ether, ‘Here in the Pitch’ is entrenched in more earthen characteristics, as the title suggests, and her craft is emboldened with a newfound gravitas.

Jessica Pratt’s spectral serenade entranced all of us at Jumbo, so ‘Here In The Pitch’ was destined to be our album of the year. She has such a classic ’60s sound, with a voice as mighty as Joni Mitchell or Karen Dalton’s, that it’s hard to believe that we’re lucky enough for her to be making music in the here and now. She’s certainly not rehashing old territory though. Her music is composed of an incredible number of layers and extraordinary originality. She has an exceptional ability to build a whole new dark but dreamy world. Maybe a big part of the album’s allure is its hazy, otherworldly quality. One of the great things about art is the escapism it provides and that’s certainly something ‘Here In Pitch’ offers in cinematic high definition. It’s a very visual experience as well as being a sonic delight. Time is a recurring theme on the record, a villain Pratt seems to be repeatedly battling with. Or perhaps she doesn’t see time as an enemy because her songs often see her slow dancing with time via languid strums, unhurried harmonies and laidback bossa nova. All kinds of enchanting instruments steadily make their introductions on the record. Jessica could be crowned victorious in her wrestle with time as her music transports us to the sort of space that doesn’t have inconvenient limitations like time. On my favourite track from the record, ‘World on a String’, she sings ‘I want to be the sunlight of the century’ and for me, she is. You may say that’s hyperbolic, but she warrants all the praise I could possibly shower her with. Her beautiful songs are a constant source of sunlight to me, even in times when the ‘desolation’ she also sings about strikes.

By Martha