Rhaye partners with producer Dale Murray to craft her stunning new album, Song In Me.
Matt Carter
With five beautiful releases now under her belt, Jessica Rhaye has certainly earned her place as one of New Brunswick’s finest contemporary songwriters. And as a champion for the sweet sounds of country influenced folk music that are all too often overlooked in this province, her work holds an important place within our shared music ecology. On Song In Me, the latest collection of songs by the Saint John artist, Rhaye continues to follow the path she first set out on back in 2000 with her self-titled debut release, guided primarily by her acoustic guitar and her warm, distinct voice.
Stepping away from the longtime producer Ed Woodsworth and engineer Jamie Foulds for this recording, Song In Me sees Rhaye teaming up with Nova Scotia-based multi-instrumentalist Dale Murray who contributes a staggering amount of instrumentation to the recording and also mixed, engineered and produced the project at his Farmhouse Studio in Port Howe, Nova Scotia. And unlike her past two recordings, Far Gone Lullabies (2013) and Good Things (2009), Song In Me features far fewer guest appearances putting the focus primarily on a core of musicians that includes Mike Carroll on drums, Mark Geddes on bass with guest appearances by Matt Anderson, Matt Epp and Christian Martin, resulting in a powerful collection of songs that allow Rhaye’s voice and songwriting to shine with stunning range and consistency.
The album opens with the beautiful melancholy, Crash and Burn, a track that sets the stage for the rest of the album with its nod towards risk and change and their important role as life’s guiding factors. From there, the album takes a decidedly optimistic turn as if she’s used that opening track to cleanse herself of any doubts she may have held regarding her latest recording project.
While Song In Me is runs smoothly across the album’s eight tracks, the songs Sun Will Shine For You and Lovely Lady stand particularly tall with arrangements and instrumentation working seamlessly together to bring Rhaye’s lyrics to life. The album concludes with the title track, Song In Me, a song through which Rhaye identifies and reaffirms her own undeniable path as an artists, musician and storyteller. We’re fortunate to call her one of our own.
Song In Me (Independent) was officially released September 13, 2016 and is now available via www.jessicarhaye.com and through local retailers.
