Dutch-British singer/songwriter/composer Tessa Rose Jackson reimagines seven songs from her acclaimed album, The Lighthouse. The Lighthouse With Strings strips away the studio polish of the original album and places the focus squarely upon Tessa’s stunning voice.
CLEARING SPACE FOR TESSA’S VOICE...
It was back in January when our ears were first pricked by The Lighthouse – the third album from visionary Dutch-British singer/songwriter/composer Tessa Rose Jackson. It seems that we weren’t the only ones to have our senses stimulated – The Lighthouse has since been generally acclaimed as Tessa’s finest piece of work to date.
With her new EP (perhaps it’s more accurate to describe it as a ‘mini album) – the Lighthouse With Strings – Tessa reimagines seven songs from The Lighthouse. Recorded live in a single day, the EP strips away the studio polish of the parent album and, instead drops in a string quartet to accompany Tessa’s guitar and Wurlitzer. And, as the EP’s press release rightly claims, the strings don’t just accompany the songs, they elevate them, “clearing space for Tessa’s voice to shine and letting each song’s meaning cut even deeper.” Quite.
Explaining further, Tessa says: “The sound of a string quartet is one of the most emotionally charged sounds to me. So, when the idea arose of arranging a chunk of songs from my album for string ensemble, guitar and Wurlitzer, I was buzzing with excitement. In this age of perfection and polish, I wanted to make the recordings as truthful as possible. With that in mind, we recorded it all live, all together, at Metropolis studios in London during the course of one magical day. We will be touring in exactly this set up this autumn and winter, so this feels like a perfect little time capsule.”
THE SUBTLE MAGIC OF STRINGS
The power of the string quartet builds slowly to get opening track, The Lighthouse, underway. Tessa announces her presence with her acoustic guitar but, from the very outset, it’s her clear, intimate vocals that sit at the centre of everything. Imagine a deeper, more intimate Sandy Denny and you’ll get the idea. And, straight away, the message hits home. This voice/string quartet rework has been a marvelous idea…
Never has a song been blessed with a more appropriate title than has Gently Now, the EP’s lead single. ‘Gentle’ is an adjective that pervades the song, from the sound of Tessa’s plucked acoustic guitar to her soft-as-snowflakes vocals. The strings fit the arrangement so snugly that, at first, it’s easy to forget that they’re even there – but they work their magic subtly and the listener is soon elevated into a cozy, comfortable, dreamland.
It’s Joni Mitchell, rather than Sandy Denny, that comes to mind with Tessa’s vocals for Built to Collide, a song that’s billed as: “A reminder that life deserves to be taken seriously…”. There’s a note of cynicism in Tessa’s part-spoken lyrics, which are delivered to a backing dominated by her briskly-strummed guitar. Once again, the strings manage to be both inobtrusive and effective, bursting into bloom whenever Tessa opens up her heart.
A SENSE OF YEARNING
Tessa describes the stunningly intimate By Morning as: “[A song that] aches with the particular sting of losing an argument.” Tessa’s voice reverts almost to a whisper as she sings her lyrics. The strings build slowly and bring a sense of yearning with them, before the mood lifts, as Tessa finds hope in her inward contemplations.
The album’s Press Release describes The Man Theat Wasn’t There as: “…pastoral but unearthly,” and that’s a description that captures the song completely. The strings this time are used for dramatic impact, particularly to emphasise the passion in Tessa’s refrain: “I’m not carrying that again.” Tessa’s guitar picking is fluent and thoroughly impressive and it provides the solid, reliable foundation for everything else that’s going on.
PICK OF THE BUNCH?
With penultimate track, When Your Time Comes, Tessa asks an intimate question that, surely, her listeners have asked themselves a thousand times before: “How do you picture your final moments?” The backing is a sweet blend of gritty guitar and plucked strings and Tessa’s vocals are empathetic and ethereal. It’s a song that, just maybe, could be my pick of this very tasteful bunch…
And, to wrap things up, echo-y electric piano and swirling strings set the scene for closing track, Wild Geese. Tessa’s voice is, once again, stunning – crystal clear, with a strong hint of Karen Carpenter. Mystery, intrigue and hope are all wrapped in the delicate intimacy that, it’s clear, is the unique selling point of Tessa Rose Jackson. The Lighthouse With Strings is, indeed, a delight from start to finish.
And, as Tessa has indicated, she’ll be taking to road during the next few months, along with her string quartet, to bring the The Lighthouse With Strings experience to a venue near you. Details of the tour can be found here.
Watch the official video to Gently Now – the EP’s lead single – below:
Tessa Rose Jackson: Website