Great Expectations On The Line

Jessica Lea Mayfield “Tell Me”

Jessica Lea Mayfield mainly operates in a sort of alt-country mode, but on a few of the songs on her second album she kinda wanders off, bringing her sad twang into less obvious musical surroundings. “Tell Me” is one of those tracks, a strange art pop composition with a careful arrangement that sounds like someone trying to find their way out of a maze of mixed emotions. Mayfield sounds a bit exhausted, but willing to work hard to find her way through self-doubt (“failure is proof that I am not brave”) or get beyond this vexing emotional stalemate. The sound is this song is so specific — pensive, mildly anxious, carefully calibrated to a precise balance of subtle emotional shifts. It has a very complete character.

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