Joan Wasser’s prime ambition on a humanistic and musical level are intrinsically intertwined – that is, the pursuit of becoming more comfortable in being increasingly vulnerable; the belief that the more inclined one is to a vulnerable, raw and honest disposition, the more liberated one becomes in both spirit and mind. Under the moniker of Joan As Police Woman, Wasser has traversed the depths of human emotion across three solo albums – Real Life (2006), To Survive (2008) and The Deep Field – with a vitality and boldness that few peers could hope to attain. A pianist and virtuosic violinist, Wasser’s soulful voice may be most influenced by Stevie Wonder, Al Green and Marvin Gaye, but her originality and stylistic versatility can be as easily attributed to her beloved musician friends/former band mates, Rufus Wainwright and Antony Hegarty, as well as her late boyfriend/songwriting genius, Jeff Buckley.
That her career has encompassed as many thrills as heartbreak has only endowed her music with further insight. With its sprightly, jaunty riffs and quirky pop sensibility, Nervous – the opener on Wasser’s third solo album, The Deep Field – is a charming portrayal of the emotive downfalls lining an intense/awkward infatuation. However, it’s immediately upstaged by the album’s undeniable classic, The Magic. Instantly memorable and a life-affirming, self-analytical ode to finding resolve in the face of overwhelming worry, The Magic abounds in tantalising hooks, stirring soul grooves and insightful self-evaluation. Wasser’s gorgeous croon has never sounded more empowering, as exemplified in her chorus-cry: “I’m looking for the magic / I’m feeling for the right way out of mind / Looking for the alchemy to release me from my maze / I am making myself”.
It’s evident, though, that Wasser is just as attracted to examining humanity’s higher qualities; hence, Human Condition‘s groovy, tribal tones inflect her vocal melody with both a warmth and raw intensity, as she sings about the “hope in people’s eyes” before surmising that “good living requires smiling at strangers”. Embracing and observing relational chemistry may not be new territory for Wasser, but she sings about its potency in Chemmie with the fervour of one who’s merely discovered it. Indeed, it’s a sultry blues-infused soul ballad, even if Wasser does unleash a slightly cringe-worthy exclamation of “We don’t have to die to get to heaven / It’s elemental / A force of nature”.
Several musicians provide additional instrumentation and vocals to The Deep Field – including Parker Kindred (Jeff Buckley, Antony And The Johnsons) and Brad Truax (new Interpol bassist) – despite Wasser’s multi-instrumental skills, while long-time collaborator Bryce Goggin (Pavement, Antony And The Johnsons) remains a dependable hand on production and engineering duties.
Forever And A Year is the album’s most heart-wrenching composition, in which the equally piercing thoughts of dying alone (“I found my dream tonight, but it’s not you / You’re my fantasy / I’ve always known I would die alone”) and losing one’s true love (“I’ve been in love before and it’s been true… within the deep, deep field / I like to stay right here”) are juxtaposed to startling effect. Although The Deep Field would serve as a soothing companion-piece to late night pensiveness, its spirited yearning is empowering; after all, no soul should be prohibited from dancing, blissfully, on their lonesome.
Best Track: The Magic
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: Let’s Stay Together AL GREEN, What’s Going On MARVIN GAYE, Want Two RUFUS WAINWRIGHT, I Am A Bird Now ANTONY AND THE JOHNSONS, Grace JEFF BUCKLEY, Innervisions STEVIE WONDER.
In A Word: Soulful
