It’s wildly unfair and inaccurate to try and file Jessica Louise Dye’s new project, “Hello Lightfoot” under the pop label, yet a lot of the sonic elements are there: Strong groovy beats, bedazzling synths and the bright lofty vocals you’d expect, but there’s a lot more going on that really makes it much more of an alternative rock experience for me, and an absurdly good one at that too. The first time I checked out what Hello Lightfoot had to offer was in March this year when the single“Slaughterhouse!” was released as a preamble of the very EP that we have with us today. The song was fantastic yes, as you might imagine, but it is nothing compared to the full glory of this 5-song release and its absolutely fantastic infusion of alternative rock influences. The only real criticism that I can give you is that 5 songs is just not enough! On a thematic level, “Every Circle Needs a Center” is a bit of a personal examination by Jessica of her career and growth as musician and -specially- as a songwriter. As she moves now in the skin of her new project, Jessica is able to look back at every stage, challenge and success along the way. From selling-out rooms DJing in New York as a “Nightlife Orchestrator” to this fantastic new EP, the line is not always clear (by design), but if you listen carefully you can notice where the electronic-dance sensibilities come in, giving a gorgeous and unique edge to this production.
The circle begins at “Twenty Seven” and after its brief intro you can bask in the glow of its neon soaked synth-pop harmonies, building up a colorful and danceable backdrop to Jessica’s uplifting and beautiful vocal foreground. I think it’s this song where Jessica’s Nightclub heritage is most evident. “Nitecap” is one of the most amazing tracks in this EP, and that’s saying something. I found it to be even more engaging than the first track, and also much “retro” in a way that feels very genuine and well earned. The synth work here is super and it very curiously manages to be a meeting point between 80s synth pop and late early 2000s intense House music; all the while it maintains a sense of wistful sweetness almost entirely by virtue of the vocals. Nitecap is also the first track in which we can enjoy some of those juicy guitar riffs that add that rock dimension I mentioned earlier. “Slaughterhouse” was the very first track we had the chance to take a look at before the release of the EP, so I have been sinking my teeth into it for a while now, and one of the qualities i always come to notice and appreciate a lot is the dramatic flair behind it. There’s something deeply cinematic about walking through “The Slaughterhouse of Love” and -this being one of the most electro-pop tracks- Jessica sure knows how to be a tour guide. “Shame” seems to bounce off of “Slaughterhouse! with its catchy repetition, but it also sets to contrast the sound philosophy of that song by focusing on this distorted guitar droning and a backing riff, making it perhaps the most alt-rock of all songs, and my absolute favorite too. The track that completes Lightfoot’s circle is called “Folly”, and this time it feels like being submerged in the embrace of clear, still waters. The soaring semi-orchestral tracks strip things down a bit and give almost all of the spotlight to Jessica’s voice, allowing her to be the primary emotional anchor and show us with even more clarity what she’s capable of. “I learned a lot about myself as a songwriter and vocalist through this creative process.” Says Jessica “That’s why I felt compelled to reference the perfection of a circle to title this EP”. I think that lyrically, this song is the biggest example of that, which makes it even more fitting that it sits at the end. All put together, Hello Lightfoot’s debut EP is a deeply sophisticated and elaborate production form every angle you want to look at it, and you can just feel in every riff and every chord how much musical maturity it took to develop it, and although Jessica Louise Dye specifically made each song to reflect her journey and growth as a songwriter, I think it’s very important to emphasize as well just how exciting everything else around that is. I seriously enjoyed this EP, and can’t hope for nothing better than more from Hello Lightfoot ASAP.
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photo credit: Sarah K. Criag
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