Healing your inner child
Releasing her second full-length album New Girl on June 10th, artist Jamie Drake creates a touching and intimate tale discussing her recent journey with healing her inner child. With witty lyricism and an impressive grasp of minute compositional details, Drake’s album is a smashing success in the indie pop genre this summer.
“Beginnings are always hard; I never know where to start” are lyrics that are echoed in Drake’s second track. Although it may seem like a simple statement at first, the way that Drake is able to methodically craft her thoughtful lyrics into the composition is of masterful quality. The corresponding track “Beginnings” explores this melodic statement by countering the first time the lyrics are spoken with lots of backing instruments. In contrast, the melodic line is repeated again and again as the piece continues until finally ending with the instrumentals dying out, leaving the listener with a final vulnerable acapella statement to digest as the song ends.
An immediate standout on the album in just the second track is the self-titled “New Girl” which features a syncopated percussion rhythm and backing guitar instrumentals that sample ideas from Bossa Nova music specifically. This song’s beat is constant and has a dance-like feel to it that will have listeners grooving in their seats. Even still the lyricism is just as tightly woven into the track. In the song, Drake discusses how growing up she never felt like she fit in anywhere as she moved around the United States growing up saying “I’m all alone in a crows that’s the way it’s always been. It’s like I’m trying somehow to never quite fit in.” she describes as she gets older how she still faces the same insecurities she did as a child, something that is largely relatable to many young adults. With lyrics like these in her songs, it helps listeners easily relate and connect to their own experiences while listening, which is a great musical strength to have.
Although some of the slower and more personal tracks are not as popular as her more upbeat songs as previously discussed, their structure is able to hypnotize listeners with Drake’s use of melodic suspensions and is where her lyricism takes the front seat. For example, in the track “Is There Something Wrong With Me?” Jamie Drake is able to bring elements of existentialism, nihilism, self-doubt and hopelessness into her work that makes the listening experience feel like Drake is singing straight to the soul. With the ebb and flow of countering a song that is quicker in tempo and stronger in instrumental timbre with a more intimate and close piece, it makes both types of tracks stand out from one another. Another similar song that pulls at the heartstrings is “When John Drake Died.” With the utilization of suspensions, the solemn lyrics add dissonance and helps bring out the melancholic mood that Drake strives for in these pieces.
Overall, it is clear that New Girl was methodically crafted by Jamie Drake’s impressive understanding of how to create music that feels intimate. She explores learning how to find oneself and learning how to heal in an ever-changing world. Compared to her first debut album, it is evident of Drake’s growth both in songwriting and lyrical input, and she shows no sign of slowing down.
