Heart Of Glass: Jessica Mitchell Album Review
Jessica Mitchell, the soulful singer-songwriter who bends genres and breaks hearts, has released her debut full-length album, Heart Of Glass, and it should surprise nobody that she has put together a collection of songs that drip with emotion, power, and depth.
As a songwriter on this album, Jessica Mitchell reveals the ability to tell a story that flows seamlessly from start to finish. And as a singer, she shows the capacity to make you believe every word of it. Jessica will make you feel it. She will pull you in. And she will break your heart for four minutes at a time when you didn’t know it needed breaking.
Related: Love, Loss, and Acceptance – Jessica Mitchell Album Preview & Interview
Heart Of Glass is an 11 track record that includes seven new songs and four previously released singles including her breakout hit Workin’ On Whiskey, 2017 releases Don’t Love Me and Tear It Down, and That Record Saved My Life from her 2016 EP, Hold Onto The Light.
From beginning to end, Jessica Mitchell dives deep on this album. She shows that as an artist she is not afraid to go to places that may be uncomfortable and vulnerable, but that makes for great music.
She has been labeled a country music singer-songwriter, but it’s clear when listening to these songs that she is not concerned with the boundaries or limits of the genre. She told us once that all she wants to do is sing songs that make people cry because that’s the music she likes. She laughed when she told us that, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true.
Mitchell’s career continues to show that she is both comfortable and able to straddle the line of country music and her touring schedule may be the best indicator. She has played at Boots and Hearts, opened for Dean Brody at the CNE in Toronto, and recently played a CMA songwriters showcase at the Great Hall, fitting in perfectly with the country music around her. But, she has also hit the road was Ron Sexsmith and Royal Wood, and took the stage to honour Neil Young at Massey Hall, proving that her music can connect with all audiences when given the chance. In fact, Jessica Mitchell just wrapped a national tour with Johnny Reid and Glass Tiger, showing yet again that she belongs anywhere people want to hear good music.
Related: Moments – Jessica Mitchell, the Feature
Now, we don’t want you to think pressing play on Heart Of Glass means that you’ll be crying non-stop for 11 songs. Yes, it’s emotionally charged. And yes, Jessica’s voice and the songs have the ability to reach deep down inside of you if you let them. But more than anything they have the authenticity to act as a means to a deeper connection with the music.
At its core, Heart Of Glass feels like a collection of stories that only the closest of friends might share with each other. It hides from nothing, lays itself bare, and allows the listener to engage, relate, and feel every emotion presented in these 11 songs.
Heart Of Glass Song Notes:
1. Workin’ On Whiskey – Whiskey remains (in my opinion) one of the most powerful singer-songwriter tracks of the last few years. Even on listen 100 (it’s probably more than that) it holds up, hitting all the right places with the depth and strength that music can when it’s vulnerable and real.
2. Firechaser – With an Adele-like feel, Jessica Mitchell shows something just different enough to show us all what she’s got up her sleeve while staying on theme with her stories and emotions.
3. Heart Of Glass – We first heard the Heart of Glass title track at that CMA showcase in January, and were instantly all-in. This one’s for the lovers who have been broken too many times by the same wrong partner. “But if my heart was made of glass, you could only break it once…”
4. Don’t Love Me – A story of a song that comes from a place of wanting desperately not to fall in love because of what might come at the end. And It’s heartbreaking for that very reason
5. One Of These Things – If you ever need a reminder that it’s not okay to be the cool kid that fits in and gets all the things that we see on TV and in magazines, this is it.
6. Tear It Down – If you’re looking for the power that Jessica Mitchell holds in her voice and the words she sings, this song delivers it by the truckload.
7. Maybe It’s Me – There’s little in life and broken relationships that’s harder than realizing, accepting, and telling yourself that it’s not all the other person’s fault. And when a sweet voice like this reminds you, it’s hard not to take it all in.
8. Somebody Gonna Get Hurt – It’s a warning. Don’t love me. It’s a story that rings of someone who doesn’t feel like they can have the good thing, or that is sure that no matter how good it is, they’ll eff it up.
9. Bulletproof – The first time we heard this song Jessica played it alone with her guitar, and now, listening to it on the album, we continue to feel the same connection and remember that everyone has their moments of “sometimes I could use some saving too…”
10. That Record Saved My Life – this is a song that we’ve both loved since we first came to know it. The story is relatable, and the “power of music” message is one that we keep with us always.
11. Rain For The River – The choir, and the power it adds are the kind of arrangement bonus that takes a song from one level to the next… and she nails it. What a way to end a record.
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