Music Review: Jay-Elle – I Need a Forest Fire

Jay-Elle, a Brooklyn based singer/songwriter from South Carolina, presents a profound record that has a refined quality compared to today’s music. His cover of James Blake and Bon Iver’s “I Need a Forest Fire ,” he displays extreme vocal intensity that can be heard throughout the record alongside its alternative indie folk vibe. The lyrics are poignant but sometimes cryptic, but the casual listener wouldn’t mind as the building lushness becomes immersive with every passing minute. It’s highly appreciated that the singer uses his voice as a delicate instrument, something that is hard to come by nowadays. 

He dubs his music folk-tronica and invites listeners to embark on a journey to his inner-world. Suffice to say, it’s a world where he confronts personal demons, and is determined to muddle through all of it. Considering the recent events in America and around the world, “I Need a
Forest Fire” is a perfect record for the times. It’s a cry for change in a world that is so resistant to do so. The lyrics are smooth, raw, and a must listen, and paired with the sonics it doesn’t take much for you to be hypnotized. Jay-Elle’s voice is awash with electric guitars, exotic keyboards and ripples of reverb. The arrangements make the melody more luminous while he opens up mysterious spaces behind lyrics that ponder continuity and exploration. There are occasional moments when Jay-Elle amps things up especially midway through the song with searing harmonies and an impressive feature from folk artist, James Boland. “I Need a Forest Fire” sounds accomplished and easy-going with dynamic but restrained rhythms, smoothly traversing an array of shimmering strings and ambient electronic swooshes.

It is so passively ear-pleasing that you actually have to make an effort to make out the tuned vocals as the artist cloaks meaning behind his words. Needless to say, with just about every line being metaphorical and subject to interpretation by the audience, the unexpected lyrics somehow make the music never collapse under its own ambitious weight. Together, it’s a flawless execution of can’t-shake-loose melodies, genius arrangement and production that leaves you rejuvenated. Viewed from that perspective, “I Need a Forest Fire” couldn’t be more aptly titled, for it’s full of moments when those distinct influences interact in wonderfully odd ways. It’s also enjoyable with how loose and comfortable it all feels as the record breathes easily with a kind of windows-open grace. And it’s to the artist’s great credit that the music never feels like an intellectual exercise, but a whole immersive experience.

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