Review Summary: A jaded wander through the beautifully sombre eyes of Jessica Lea Mayfield.
You've heard all about
it before - the idea that some are graced with gift 'x' since birth and with
it can instantly achieve something that others perhaps can't. I won't pretend to know what
it is, I don't even care to try and prove its existence, but I will put an argument forward in favour of
it, and she's called Jessica Lea Mayfield. She's one of those lucky ones blessed with a voice that accompanies her music so faultlessly it's as if they were woven together with the same golden thread. Seemingly every article that mentions her name won't pass by without dropping a mention of her instantly distinctive and fatigued vocal tone that trickles and fades softly downward with every held note, slipping into a river of melancholy with enough rushing force to wash your heartstrings away. Every song is flooded with a bleak atmosphere, yet it's never a chore to listen to – Jessica Lea Mayfield possesses an enthralling ability to make a listener ache for their desires yes, but not in a difficult way.
On
With Blasphemy So Heartfelt, Mayfield is a master of juxtaposition. On the surface, her slurred vocal may seem unenthusiastic and lukewarm, however she sings with a passion that is absolutely anything but. She lazily strums away on her acoustic guitar apparently without a care in the world, as if she's gently swinging her legs from the branch of a tree, but in reality every song she drifts through showcase she most definitely does have a care in the world, and her relationship with him isn't so perfect. Her lyrics also reflect this incredibly well presented contrast, such as in opener "Kiss Me Again" where Mayfield drearily states '
You can kiss me again if you want, I don't mind', but with a sense of longing that the lyrics wouldn't otherwise tell. The blatant and truly honest lyrics she sings leave no area of mystery and as such she can transport you into her world in an instant. Instrumentally, the simple folk backdrop throughout that is primarily provided by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys (who coincidentally produced this), always remains underwhelming so that Mayfield's vocals can take the forefront, yet this also helps keep the flow cohesive so that no one song overpowers the other.
And to make it all the better, Mayfield penned this album when she was just 18. The disintegrating relationship she seems to describe however mimics a tale of a woman of a much more matured age. Her youthfulness certainly shouldn't prevent anyone from believing the subtle conviction in her voice though, this is no faux-love. With a tone so genuine it's undeniable that she speaks truth of her first-hand encounters/misadventures with her young love. '
You don't love me like you said you did before/and you don't want me to love you anymore', she yearns on "I Can't Lie To You, Love", citing one of the many self-realisations she goes through during the album's course. At its end you are almost left with a personal debate about whether she is the firmly independent girl she maybe comes across as at first, or whether she actually relies on her love to see her through. Either way,
With Blasphemy So Heartfelt is a wonderfully dark walk through the mind of a girl, a very introspective window into the world of Jessica Lea Mayfield, and only amplified tenfold for those who have battled through a relationship, survival or otherwise.
