I first met Jessica Winter a number of years ago when she was putting on gigs in a small pub in Portsmouth. I’m not sure if at the time she was even old enough to be there, but if she wasn’t, it certainly showed her commitment to music. Even at that stage it was clear she stood out; a warped version of Kate Bush playing what could broadly be described as pop songs but with some strong classical influence from Hungarian composer and piano virtuoso Franz Liszt.
A few years further on and she had become the front woman of sepia tinged psychedelic pop band The Hall of Mirrors, who made some small headway into the public consciousness with a number of well received gigs in London, festival slots and a feature in The Guardian’s New Band of the Day (now New Band of the Week) before dissolving.
But it’s Winter’s latest project, Glass, that’s turned the dial marked excitement up to the max, especially with their second song Broken Bones. With an accompanying video that is surreal, glamorous and puzzling, the tune sounds a little bit like Luke Haines’ Black Box Recorder fed through a filter marked noir-tinged and trippy. It’s a mesmerising piece that deals with what appears to be the near loss of Jessica’s brother. “Leaving 50 years early, don’t just be a memory to me,” she sings with a sad melancholy tone. Add to that the fact that her brother stars in the video and it makes the whole thing that little bit more unsettling, but it's certainly a beautifully realised piece of leftfield pop music.
Glass play a small handful of shows in Bristol, Manchester and London in March.
Glass - Broken Bones (Video)
No comments:
Post a Comment