New Artist to Listen For: Jaymay

With her light, soft vocals and honest lyrics, Jaymay's debut full-length album Autumn Fallin' has the versatility to keep the album on rotate all day long. While many of the tracks are ballads, (some more somber than others) jazzy songs like "Hard To Say" have catchy choruses and instrumental accompaniment, often putting the listener into another time period. The first half of Autumn Fallin' starts slower, but track six segues into almost another album entirely.

New Yorker Jaymay starts off Autumn Fallin' with "Gray or Blue," a lyrically honest song with light guitar strumming while tambourine and xylophone can be heard in the background. If you listen closely to each song, they all tell a story — whether it be about crushing on a friend or wishing to find love. The underlying theme on Autumn Fallin' seems to be heartbreak and unrequited love while three of the ten song titles include the word "blue." Coincidence? I think not. Lyrics such as, "Don't second guess your feelings, you were right from the start/And I notice she's your lover but she's nowhere near your heart" get the point across.

On "Gray or Blue" Jaymay tells the story of two friends in love, who ironically both have significant others. She sings, "You haven't written to me in a week I wonder why that is/Are you too nervous to be lovers?/Friendships ruined with just one kiss." While the title of another track, "Blue Skies," sounds like it might be more of an uplifting song, the listener can sense the angst. "Faith brings me back to the place I met you/I bet you miss me sometime . . . sometimes," she sings.

While tracks one through five are mostly somber ballads, nearly 10-minute track "You'd Rather Run" has background music reminiscent of a carousel ride at a carnival, seemingly in opposition to the more serious story within the song. Stand-out track on the album is "Hard To Say," a more upbeat, fun jazzy number featuring Jaymay's higher vocal range. "Hard To Say" segues nicely into the next track on the album, "Big Ben," a slower song, almost sounding like a song right out of an old black and white movie. Despite the stories within each song being somewhat of a downer, Jaymay's debut album has the intrigue to keep the listener wondering what exactly she's trying to get across throughout the album's entirety. By the last track, I think she's given us all the answer.

For more on Jaymay, listen to an audio stream of her song "Gray or Blue" here or check her out on MySpace.