Mnemonics [CD]

Throughout Mnemonics, Amy Jay explores what makes the vulnerable acceptable, as well as the Joycean concept of what makes the universal specific: How do you love yourself when you don't feel likable? How do you face pieces of your hidden self courageously? How do you hold space for negative thought patterns or feelings of embarrassment, insecurity, loneliness, or anxiety? While such themes are often still stigmatized, through song, they become softer and more palatable. Jay assembled a crew of stellar local musicians with national track records to help take her sketches of folk songs into fully formed indie rock panoramas. With long-time producer/engineer Jon Seale (Mason Jar Music) at the helm and guitarist Sam Skinner (Pinegrove, Fenne Lily), keyboardist Andrew Freedman (Michael Mayo, Ryan Beatty), Jay also enlisted bassists Jeremy McDonald and Margaux (Katy Kirby) and drummers Jason Burger (Big Thief) and Jordan Rose (Maggie Rogers) to round out her sound. Mnemonics takes such hefty internal work and translates everything into ear-pricking songs that alternatingly float, stun, and comfort. And with Jay's sly observations and embrace of nervous laughter in awkward situations, she infuses a sense of levity in the album. The architecture of her songwriting, varied in length, tone, and dynamic, stands out, but it's Jay's voice that's the connecting tissue. In songs like "Margins" and "Excuse Me," her vibrato carries emotional insecurity and staunch vocal control simultaneously. On "Move On" and "Floral Comfort," her whispering conveys the embarrassment that can often overlap with personal growth, while the band swells to cast spells of confidence that belie such fear.