Jana Losey's second
CD release, Blocks, has me wondering "what ever
happened to Natalie Merchant anyway?" Do you
remember Natalie? The gifted singer from 10,000
Maniacs who also produced a memorable solo
album. Michael Stipe's fag hag?
To say that Jana
Losey's underemphasized vocals remind me of Natalie
Merchant is an understatement and a high compliment.
I loved that solo album.
Blocks will not be
available for purchase until February of 2008, but
it is fully available on Q-Radio.net now. Selected
tracks are available through Jana Losey's MySpace
page.
The first track "Have
You Made It" features a memorable guitar hook and a
driving beat. One of the best songs on the release,
you may find yourself singing along, channeling
Natalie Merchant .. errr...Jana Losey...yourself.
"Five Days" is a
melancholy ode to a depressed friend which contains
the memorable lyric "I never realized the ceiling
was so dirty/It's all those spiders making webs."
The rest of the song maintains the depressed friend
as an old house metaphor, punctuated with the
heartfelt verse "When something's wrong you check
out."
"Easy To Love" is a
quirky piano-driven piece about quirky people who
are easy to love and easy to overestimate. We have
whole neighborhoods of those people in Portland.
"Little Wars" is an
excellent song about the little wars that seem to be
a part of every relationship. It's nice to hear
angry Jana on this one.
Blocks is an
excellent album. It marks a shift from Jana Losey's
initial release, Bittersweet, away from an attempt
to pen sellable pop songs to writing, producing and
performing more personal songs. The lyrics tell
stories. Some of the stories are angry, some are
supportive and some are filled with the wonder of
things to come. No matter the topic, lyrics with
stories and the musical ability to back those up add
up to good songs.
Enjoy listening to
Jana Losey's Blocks in its entirety on Q-Radio.net
and purchase the CD when it is released in February
2008. It will find a home among your favorites and
will make you forget about Natalie Merchant
completely.
Jana Losey stated
this about her first CD release, Bittersweet: "I'm
really excited about it, I'm happy with the music
and have had some really great experiences exploring
new musical ideas, and working with wonderful
musicians."
As a self-proclaimed
"music school drop out," Losey is right to be
excited to explore her musical and songwriting
ability. The result of this exploration is a
tantalizing mini-CD of seven tracks which was
re-released later with an additional four live
tracks.
The title track and
opening salvo on the release begins with the
memorable statement "I could drink you under the
table." It's a "song in the key of me" somewhat
reminiscent of Alanis Morisette - a little bit like
Alanis and Natalie Merchant drunk in a bar, late at
night. And I mean that in a good way, of course.
My favorite track, by
far, is "Messy Little Happiness," which begins with
the classic line "that was a messy little mood
swing/it's a little hard to shake this impending
doom thing." An ode to the messes we make of our
lives at times, complete with the things (panties,
pants, self-respect) we've managed to leave in
inappropriate places. The punch line of the song is
"it's a messy little happiness/but look what it's
done for me." Wow. I can relate to that.
Losey concedes on her
website that Bittersweet was an experiment in
writing pop songs originally intended to sell to
other artists. Her second release, Blocks, is a far
more personal CD. Yet, it was the talent immediately
apparent on Bittersweet that built a loyal
following. She knows better than to experiment with
a working formula too much.
Both releases ooze a
soothing, haunting voice, excellent lyricism and
fantastic musical composition. It is no wonder that
Jana Losey is winning fans in all realms of the
listening spectrum.
Jana Losey has reason
to be excited about her first release. And her
second. Check out both on the Q-Radio.net player.
And let us know what you think!
Jana
Losey by Aaron C.
Yeagle
“I want people to
have an ‘altered time’ kind of experience that
happens in the theater or a really good movie — the
kind where you can forget about what’s going on with
you and travel like you’re dreaming.”
For singer/songwriter
Jana Losey and her co-writer/producer
Melanie Peters, it’s not just the live performances
that have felt dreamlike in recent days. After
touring cross-country and moving back to her
hometown of Lawrenceville, PA (population 600), Jana
and Melanie recorded the labor of love called "Blocks"
mostly in the house where Jana grew up.
“Some people have
children, and that makes them feel a slice of
immortality,” explains Losey. “I have my music to
leave behind – my songs are my children, my slice of
immortality.”
Though some of the
stories in the songs deal with darkness and
loneliness, they are often balanced by bright
melodies and driving rhythms. On first listen, “5
Days” might sound like an upbeat pop song. But the
origin of the song was a newspaper story about a
woman who fell and remained on the floor for three
days before anyone found her. “I was sickly
fascinated with what it must be like to be lying on
the floor in various states of consciousness for
that long.”
It’s those
juxtapositions of dark and light that reward
repeated listenings with subtle shades of meaning.
Whereas some musicians might be content to conjure
songs with memorable melodies, Jana Losey is the
kind of thoughtful writer and charismatic performer
who wants to take her audience deeper and create
moments that stay with them a little longer after
they’ve turned off the record or left the concert.
Where did the vision
and ambition begin to take root? If every musical
path can be traced back to its first few baby steps,
you could follow Jana’s back to when she was three.
“Everywhere I went I
carried around a small suitcase record player, a
jump rope, and a couple 45s. When I found a wiling
audience, I would ‘plug’ the jump rope ‘into’ the
record player and sing ‘Sugar Sugar’ by The Archies”
Losey’s exposure to
pop culture was limited by the size of her hometown.
Losey says. “I think it’s great that kids start
bands so young now. They have so much more access to
music and the world. I was pretty sheltered, and
there was some good to that. But I do wish I had
started things earlier.”
Losey managed to
expand her range of musical skills and performing
opportunities in a way that might have eluded a
pigeonholed prodigy. As a result, she learned how to
play guitar, piano, flute and tenor saxophone. In
college, she studied voice, and minored in
photography and dance.
Those unexpected
combinations were first explored on her 2006 debut
"Bittersweet" and subsequent tour. That
record, the result of a serendipitous collaboration
with partner Melanie Peters, earned a good deal of
radio airplay which translated into a devoted
following of fans.
“When Melanie and
I started to explore writing together, the songs got
good really fast,” Losey reflects. The success
of the "Bittersweet" album encouraged her to
begin thinking about how to construct a long-term,
sustainable career in music. As a result, she began
to take a big-picture view of her life in general
and how she could sow the seeds for a long career,
and eventually create a permaculture community. That
direction inspired her to make changes that affect
many aspects of her life on the road.
In the past year,
organic evolution has been evident in Losey’s
songwriting process as well. Whereas,
"Bittersweet" was an experiment in writing pop
songs that originally were intended to be sold to
other artists, Losey describes her new record
"Blocks" as a project that was conceived and
structured as an album from the beginning. During
the development of "Blocks" Losey’s primary
goal was to focus on her storytelling.
“I want to not
force-feed people an oversimplified lyric, and
at the same time, not be so esoteric that my
intention is not clear. I always strive to be a
better songwriter and I hope the albums played
back to back will illustrate that.”
“I’m working really
hard to make a fan base that is lasting, not
following trends,” says Losey. “People who will like
the artistic changes I will no doubt go through. We
plan to be bi-coastal traveling back and forth
between upstate New York and California.”
You can find more
information regarding Jana Losey at her
MySpace space and her website
www.janalosey.com.
olo
album. Michael Stipe's fag hag? 
