Welcome back to the CD Odyssey. After a brief uptick, I am sad to report once again I encountered an album I found merely average. This is the fifth record in the last seven that did not survive to make it to the shelves. When I look at the spread of ratings in the collection as a whole (mostly 3s and 4s) I have cause for hope, but it hasn’t been reflected in the music I’ve been rolling of late.
Disc 1695 is…Cosmic Wink
Artist: Jess Williamson
Year of Release: 2018
What’s up with the Cover? Jess Williamson looks pensive in the fading light. This is that time of night where if you’ve got a campfire, you gather around it, and if you don’t you head inside where it is warm.
While the photo isn’t compelling beyond that, I give full marks to the creative framing and font choices. Very nice!
How I Came To Know It: Earlier this year I discovered Williamson through her 2023 album “Time Ain’t Accidental.” I really dug that record, and shortly after I bought it I found this record hanging out in the Misc W section at the local record store. Feeling it was divine providence at work, I bought it. In doing so I must’ve forgotten I’d already checked out other earlier works by Williamson (2020’s “Sorceress”) and found them wanting. Oops.
How It Stacks Up: I have two Jess Williamson records. “Cosmic Wink” is a distant second.
Rating: 2 stars but almost 3
In 2023, Jess Williamson developed a crisp and insightful style that is a pleasure to listen to, but on her journey to that place she applies a very different approach, which mostly registered low for me on the joy meter.
I’m currently reading “Just Kids”, and it has my head wrapped up in Patti Smith’s artistry and unflinching creative talent. On “Cosmic Wink” Williamson looks to channel Smith’s spirit, with a delivery that is heavy on an emotive, almost Beatnik performance style. Smith’s rough and wrought approach to music is not easy to emulate. While Williamson has the vocal chops for it, it didn’t have that same “take you to the edge of reason” quality that Smith manages on her early records. Not terrible, but just not…magical.
Production-wise, “Cosmic Wink” has a submerged quality to it, with lots of reverb and overlap of sounds. This is not usually how I roll, and here I found it distracting from her big vocals. It establishes a dreamlike and diffuse mood, but it didn’t successfully pull me into its world, and with music of this nature, if you’re not fully pulled in, it can quickly become background.
Worst, I heard many aspects that I like better in other artists. In addition to the aforementioned similarities with Patti Smith, there are elements of the smoky mystery of early Lera Lynn, and the murder mystery folk of Marissa Nadler. These are positive comparisons, and at a core level Williamson has all the tools. Her voice is big and expressive, and she knows how to create phrasing that draws you in and out of the rhythm. It is just all a bit too soupy for me.
Most of my listening to “Cosmic Wink” was done in the car, which was not in its favour. The Jag tends to growl over more nuanced records, and when I got home tonight for a third listen on headphones, I was instantly happier with the results. Here, with a more complete immersion, you can let all those light and layered brush strokes of guitar dance around the edges of your consciousness.
Additionally, Williamson’s vocals stand out stronger on a headphone experience, and that Patti Smith spoken word/broken bird song approach is easier to both embrace, and to be embraced by.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. I kept yearning for her cleaner and more inspired 2023 release. I have a record with Williamson working as one half of the female duo “Plains” which I also prefer. I’m keen to roll and dive into both those records soon, and in so doing redeem Williamson’s reputation. As for “Cosmic Wink” I’ve decided to move on.
Best tracks: I See the White, Thunder Song
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