From Hartford, CT comes the instantly catchy Alt-rock sound of Audio Jane. Embracing their inner 90’s child, the rising group is focused on making music from the raw and honest heart, and, for many musicians, this is too vulnerable a space to play in. With their new album titled A Full Bird’s Wing, Audio Jane channels a bit of Courtney Love meets Kurt Cobain meets Mazzy Star meets something new; and for those not afraid to open their hearts a little more, this album is going to be a welcome addition to the expanding soundtrack of their lives.
Unusually opening their album with their album single “White Lies”, Audio Jane wastes no time at all in showing their listeners what they are about. Not the fastest song on the album “White Lies” is more of a bleeding heart ballad to be played on those rainy and reflective days. Everything is mixed beautiful, and the vocals are beautiful. There is a true show of professional understanding within Audio Jane, and it is clear that music is something the band take very seriously.
The following track “Baby I Know” has such a warm feel to it. If you close your eyes with some high end headphones on, you can almost picture being in the room with this talented band. The acoustic guitars and soft drumming match the soft vocals perfectly, and although not an extreme departure from what we heard on the single “White Lies,” “Baby I Know” does confirm that this band does have more than one great song in their catalogue.
It is the third song on the album, aptly titled “Radiohead,” that breaks up the pattern being created by the first two songs, and it successfully shows that Audio Jane have some depth to their sound while simultaneously solidifying their 90’s influences. The electric is slow and chunky, the drums feel at the top of the surface and clean, and the vocals sink into a vocalized hole at points, which works very well. This is my personal favorite song on the album so far, but let that not overshadow the two previous great songs.
The final song I listened to on the album is titled “Aliens”. This song was more of what we have heard so far, a solid song that works well if you close your eyes and song in the rawness, but perhaps held back a bit by the lack of taking the music to the next, more aggressive and loud, level. If you are going to follow in the footsteps of any of the 90’s female greats, you must also embrace their fearless ability to shout or scream their raw intentions as well.
A Full Bird’s Wing is a sweet little musical gem, a bit too soft all the way through for my own musical tastes, but then again my favorite band is TOOL, so take this comment with a grain of salt. What Audio Jane does, they do very well, and for that reason alone I think you should give their new album A Full Bird’s Wing a chance.
Audio Jane can be found on Facebook, Bandcamp, and their official site.
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