The strength of 21-year-old Ohio native Jessica Lea Mayfield's voice isn't in its power; it lies in the haunting cool she conveys as she sings with emotional depth and reflective self-awareness. In "Our Hearts Are Wrong," she can take a line like "The only time I miss you is every single day" and make it sound vulnerable and strong at the same time.
Mayfield has been a musician for a lot longer than her age would suggest — she started out performing with her family's b luegrass band — but grownup heartbreak fuels her new album, Tell Me. Produced by The Black Keys' D an Auerbach, who keeps a bit of blues-rock distortion hovering in the background, "Our Hearts Are Wrong" feels subtly atmospheric but never overbearing. The result is genuinely moving.
Copyright 2011 KCRW
