Back in July, essence released her fifth album full of laid back Americana/folk music, Black Wings. Her voice is pure and clear leading to a beautiful record with a slow, meandering pace – perfect for soothing our society’s shattered nerves.
The songs on this album have a power to them and essence’s voice manages to be both strong and vulnerable while her lyrics ring of love gone wrong. Her vocals on “Honeyed Out” remind me of later Ani DiFranco records while the lyrics are about having too much of someone. “1000 Pieces” is a melancholy piece about loving two men and it has an almost Jill Sobule vocal style. “Black Wings” is a love song for broken misfits that makes good use of a ukulele. “Still Running” has a rhythm that pulls you along. It moves at a fun pace, like much of the album and has life-affirming lyrics.
This record’s sound covers a range of genres. “So Much Hell” has a modern country feel with electric piano and percussion while “Fossils” is simply bare guitar and voice that moves into strings. “She Said” is a blues tune and “Bullsh*t” tells the humorous tale of a jilted lover. “Camels N Diesel” has powerful lyrics over slide guitar and clapping percussion, while “Headed North” feels like a nighttime driving anthem.
Overall, there was very little about this album that I didn’t like. “Roots” and “Over My Head” felt a little lackluster, but the rest of the record made up for them. If you enjoy acoustic genres and Americana/folk music, try essence. Her voice is beautiful and her song-writing skills are strong.
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