Download Jacquelyn Lee's "Cold Hand"
Fingerpicked or strummed, Jacquelyn Lee’s illusive melodies and gliding voice inevitably draw you near, to follow her hand in its circular path. These six tracks recorded for Vinyl Records Presents showcase a spectrum of her songs and talents, from the barebones and organic “My Mother, Oh Mother” to the toy piano, accordion, and filters of “Affection is a Liar,” “Accordion 1,” and “Henry David Thoreau.” Yet the variation extends far beyond instrumentation, as each song is composed of scenes, gradually building one aesthetic and atmosphere before shifting to the next, providing the listener with an introduction to the world of Jacquelyn Lee.
Teaching herself guitar in early high school while listening to Pop-Rock and Anti-Folk bands, Jacquelyn Lee suddenly found herself on the stage of a children’s benefit concert, playing a Velvet Underground cover and beginning to write her own material.
Her first set of “goofy songs” centered on subjects such as stealing gum from Food Lion (she pleads the fifth), but Jacquelyn Lee worked to avoid falling into the stereotypical model of a female singer/songwriter singing pretty songs and playing pretty melodies. Those early beginnings are far behind however, as she now lies at the center of a thriving Chapel Hill indie-folk scene. Hosting frequent house parties that showcase both local and traveling bands, Jacquelyn Lee’s music is immediately recognizable and quickly enrapturing.
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Her desire to avoid overly simple “pretty” songs has held steady and is audible in these songs, her voice clear, strong, and at times haunting above her continuous picking and strumming. “A folk artist that doesn’t write folk songs,” Jacquelyn Lee’s lyrics are a combination of personal experiences and more universal notes on the human experience, the emotions that we fall asleep and wake up to. “Mother oh Mother” and “Henry David Thoreau” provide narratives more mythic than biographical, shaping vibrant characters and tales in a voice that drifts like smoke, occasionally in unison with the guitar but primarily floating gently above it.
These tracks offer a rare glimpse of Jacquelyn Lee in the studio, with painstaking detail each song is presented in its neatest, most accurate form. Alternately, Jacquelyn Lee enjoys and thrives on the spontaneity and improvisation of live shows, always with something different or adjusted from the time before. More important than the size or location of the venue is the audience, and listening to these recordings in many ways provides the most intimate experience with her music, allowing her melodies and moods to become entrenched in memory.
Jacquelyn Lee is set to release a full album in May, but until then we certainly hope you will allow Jacquelyn Lee a chance to pull you in, because after all, “now all of the world is waiting to comfort you in its soil.”
Download Jacquelyn Lee's "Cold Hand"
Every month, we highlight a local band in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, N.C. area and upload a free, online only album for your listening pleasure. Subscribe to make sure you don't miss any of our southern-fried music goodies! Brought to you by Vinyl Records UNC.
