Jessica Moss – Galaxy Heart

Constellation

As Jessica Moss move further into her solo career, you can almost sense the natural barriers of artistic progress being lifted and set aside. Galaxy Heart  feels as though she has discovered that musically anything is possible and with restrictions limiting personal interaction, it is down to her to do it; so apart from a couple of guest appearances, everything we hear on the album was played by Jessica.

The relatively cool structure of 2021’s Phosphenes has been abandoned here and a real buzz of fresh approaches and wild looseness has taken its place. The album covers a lot of different ground and a vast array of textural ideas separating it from the measured suites of her previous releases, instead populating it with tracks that fizz and pop with vitality or slow to a primal crawl.

Galaxy Heart’s three opening tracks give a great indication of the ground that Jessica is covering; with the harsh violin tones of “Resistance Creature” coming on like Jimi Hendrix, with a slow distortion crumbling the speakers and pushing the instrument into wilder territory.

“Uncanny Being” introduces Jim White for the first time, and this is a fantastic match with his drums unravelling at their own pace, a gradual eruption into a primal mass that joins forces with Thierry Amar‘s bass allowing the violin to wander across the heathland in long, slow strokes. Finally, the electric guitar is uncovered for “This Continuous Spectrum” and it is hesitant and searching, a subtle distortion allied to a hissing beat that belies all that came before. It is ominous and predatory and a really pleasant surprise with its distant background drone.

Jessica’s voice on this album is a dreamy and her interaction with Jim’s drums on “Is There Room For It All” has a real subtlety, a gentleness that pours into the eastern-inflected call to prayer drama and is overwhelmed by monolithic guitar. The voice is unguarded and hopeful as the slow dread picks at the emotions. Moods sweep across the album like bands of rain, clearing, gathering and descending once again.

Sunshine smiles on the deserted hillsides of the folky “Light Falls On Every Door”, while a synthetic rhythm backs the “Star-spangled Banner”-esque Hendrix violin blast of “Uncanny Body”. The violin is given quite a work out over the course of Galaxy Heart and we see it in various different lights, with effects lending it a shapeshifting nature.

On “Enduring Oceans”, the instrument is a counterpoint to Jessica’s voice, which willingly follows the whims of Thierry’s bass. This piece has a ragged charm that is most reminiscent of A Silver Mt Zion, but the closer “Opened Ending” simmers with untapped tension as slow waves approach, resound and then drift into background contemplation, allowing the album to surf out on a relatively easy drift, bringing the violin journey full circle.

The violin is not the lead instrument here; instead it is part of a pattern of textural intrigue that is a real pull for the listener, taking them across drastically different landscapes and multiple moods. Jessica’s career just seems to grow richer and richer and it will be interesting to see how these pieces are reproduced on the upcoming tour. I for one will be there.

-Mr Olivetti-