“Desert Song” layers acoustics and light trip-hop beats underneath Jessie’s seductive croon. Alan Cox co-wrote and sings on the jazzy salsa “All I Am Is Breath”.
The haunting “Lord Lucan” burgeons from ghostly hums to sparse electronic beats as Jessie’s lone voice transposes her personal heartbreak onto the tale of a murderous English aristocrat. “The Dream” and the erotic “Delicate Queen” are strange brews of glowering, atmospheric jazz and junkyard clang.
The album includes three covers. With the exception of a few flourishes, the Kilguss take on Elvis’ “Don’t” stays true to the moody, downtempo original. There’s a plunking, plonking cover of the Waits tune “I’ll Shoot The Moon”. And a partially spoken word rendition of Jacques Brel’s “The Desperate Ones” serves as the finale.
Jessie Kilguss – Lord Lucan (mp3 expired)
Jessie Kilguss – Desert Song (mp3 expired)