The melodic charms are epic, the lyrical insights about romantic disappointment universal.
With her 2015 follow-up On Your Own Love Again, Pratt does little to change the hermetic alchemy she began on her debut, offering up only the subtlest developments to her already mesmerizing style.
At its core, this follow-up to 2012’s JP is as whimsically experimental as it is steeped and reveling in its own revivalism.
On Your Own Love Again, Pratt's exquisite second LP, both reinforces the 27-year-old's place in the folk tradition and sets her apart as an exceptional songwriter who is a master of nuance and minutiae.
Despite the fact that the album is still almost entirely solo ... the songs seem poppier, trippier; far more open-ended.
On Your Own Love Again has a meek and quiet beauty to it that is pre-occupied with faded memories.
Its warm, home-recorded atmosphere is more dramatic and distinctive than Jessica Pratt: finger-picked psychedelia, lucidly layered harmonies, hissy tape effects, an overcast haze.
With On Your Own Love Again we need not look far for proof that her music is a sign of a wonderful, maturing talent that we can believe in.
With On Your Own Love Again, Jessica Pratt has crafted a record that is as accessible as it is complex, two traits that she proves are not mutually exclusive.
There are no jitters or missteps on On Your Own Love Again; it’s an album of puzzle-piece precision.
Even though Pratt must have approached the writing of On Your Own Love Again with the trepidation that comes with knowing you’ll be heard, she musters the same aura of languid intimacy achieved on her debut, playing to her strengths
On Your Own Love Again is a poignant and melancholy listen; one filled with gentle warmth that rings just as appropriate for both a slowly rising morning or an unwinding evening with a glass or two of wine.
The sophisticated songwriting nods to Joni Mitchell and Sibylle Baier, but an appealing playfulness is evident too.
As a whole, On Your Own Love Again is a somewhat murkier affair.
FAVORITE TRACK: Back, Baby
LEAST FAVORITE TRACK: Moon Dude
Shoutout to Atlanta S3E1 for putting me onto this.
Explorative surrealist recording based around dream logic. Half-remembered callbacks to Duran Duran's Hungry Like the Wolf in Strange Melody. Sudden real-time pitch shifts in voice and guitar in Jacquelyn. I've Got a Feeling sounds like it was recorded in the sky. An unreal vibe, best in genre.
I like what Jessica was going for with this album. Feels intensely personal and like a reflection upon memories, both good and bad. Instrumentally and vocally it is extremely pleasant on the ears. Tough subject matters that are softened by the calming qualities it has.
1 | Wrong Hand 3:18 | 70 |
2 | Game That I Play 4:15 | 78 |
3 | Strange Melody 5:02 | 77 |
4 | Greycedes 2:38 | 80 |
5 | Moon Dude 3:40 | 74 |
6 | Jacquelyn in the Background 3:23 | 73 |
7 | I've Got A Feeling 3:50 | 72 |
8 | Back, Baby 3:55 | 83 |
9 | On Your Own Love Again 1:33 | 76 |
#15 | / | Newsweek |
#23 | / | Paste |
#23 | / | Time Out New York |
#33 | / | The Guardian |
#36 | / | American Songwriter |
#36 | / | Crack Magazine |
#36 | / | Q Magazine |
#37 | / | Treble |
#38 | / | FasterLouder |
#41 | / | Uncut |