Jourdan Myers – Ruin Me With Love
Jourdan Myers – Ruin Me With Love
URL: https://jourdanmyers.com/
“Ruin Me With Love” is the new album from Minneapolis based singer/songwriter Jourdan Myers. The fist song of the album, “Lifetime or Before,” is a piano driven alt-rock masterpiece that sets the bar high for the album, with a haunting melody and organic sound that is frequently absent from modern recording. Track two, “Long Days,” cuts to a slow, creeping melody, which contrasts beautifully with Myers’s angelic vocal performance. Track three pumps up the energy while restraining the pace with the potent, driving, “Push Me on the Playground.” The blues influence on this song is thick, heavy and perfect, further illustrating Myers’s musical flexibility and exploratory nature.
Track four, “Firelight,” is a truly unique stylistic mashup, which reminds one of the music of Akira Yamaoka. This track would fit perfectly in the soundtrack of a personal horror video game. In track five, “The Fight,” the musical accompaniment falls to the background, occupying a subtle space shared by numerous creative sound effects in addition to the instruments. This creates a truly haunting atmosphere while placing the focus squarely on Myers’s considerable vocal talents. Track five, “Wanderlust,” picks up the pace and takes a slightly poppier route, reminiscent of Bjork or Annie Lennox. It is a beautiful wall of sound that takes the listener on a journey, illustrating the aptness of its title. Track six, “Voice of Silver,” s probably the most “traditional” ballad on the album to this point, but Myers tackles it with incredible vocal flare and skillful instrumentation that keeps it on par with the remainder of the album. Track eight, “Tears,” returns to a more experimental nature, employing an organ, non-standard percussion sounds, unexpected sound effects and Myers’s impeccable vocals holding the arrangement of sound together into one cohesive piece. Track nine, “End Of Me,” feels like a vinyl recording from the 1940s, both in terms of style and technical presentation. As is the case with the entire album, the production and mix are flawless and clearly deliberate. Every noise is crafted to make the song feel alive, a task masterfully accomplished by the track. Track ten, “Dusty Roses,” amps up the rhythm for a comparatively straightforward toe-tapper that is no less original or enjoyable than the rest of the album. Track eleven, “Be Here,” slows things down quite a bit, featuring a beautiful vocal melody supported by a sparse, simple musical arrangement reminiscent of a 1950’s era love song.
The album finishes with track twelve, “Slow Motion,” which strikes a perfect balance between the more traditional and experimental aspects of the album, and leaves the listener satisfied at having completed a truly incredible collection of songs. I give “Ruin Me With Love” nine out of ten stars and highly recommend you get a copy immediately!
I-TUNES: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/ruin-me-with-love/id910712886
– Travis Legge
9/10 Stars