“I wanna show them the mountains and say/Drink from the clear spring water, fresh from the mountaintop/And the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen/It's a world worth keeping,” Jaime Wyatt implores us on the opening track of third album, Feel Good. The track mirrors the optimism-in-the-face-of-disasters lyrics with a driving drumbeat, piercing guitar and scintillating organ that create an uplifting start to a collection of songs that continues down the road of self-discovery that began on Wyatt’s 2020 New West debut, Neon Cross.
“I spent a lot of my life feeling like it was selfish to want to feel good, that women were supposed to be meek and submissive,” explains Wyatt. “I wasn’t born like that, though, and these songs were a big part of learning not just to accept myself, but to love myself, because if you can’t love yourself, then nobody can.”
On Feel Good, recorded with Black Pumas’ Adrian Quesada, Wyatt slides across melded genres to share the experiences, both challenging and uplifting, that led her to accept and cherish who she is, freeing her to explore the outer reaches of her creativity. “I really tried to listen to my gut and be in the moment with these songs,” she says. Listening to her gut included recording most of the basics and vocals live in an Austin studio, fleshing them out with overdubs later, creating a soulful and powerful collection of songs, each of which shimmers in the light of day. “I figured out how to stop overthinking and second-guessing myself, everything started opening up in a really exciting way.”
As a result of the honest and open approach to both the writing and recording, Wyatt has created a record that, as indicated by the opening track, is engaging and uplifting, even when tackling challenging subjects like heartbreak (“Hold Me One Last Time”) and loneliness (“Ain’t Enough Whiskey”). It is her self-awareness and stark belief that whoever you are, it’s okay to be you, that fills Feel Good with an optimism so sorely needed in these times. “A lot of us grow up feeling like we have to hide who are just to be accepted, but that comes from a place of fear and judgment,” opines the singer. “Sometimes we need a little extra help to let go of all the guilt and shame and pain we carry. Sometimes we need a reminder to be kind to ourselves and each other.”
With Feel Good about to be released “World Worth Keeping” is pushing the album up the Triple A charts, with strong support from half the panel, including WFUV, Lightning 100, The SoCal Sound, KRVB, KXT and WXRV.
Comments