Hi, everyone. Bigthony Libtano here, the internet's busiest music nerd. It's time for a review of this new Jessica Pratt album Here in the Pitch.

Newest full-length LP, fourth, in fact, I believe, from this American singer, songwriter. Once again, on this record, she is sticking to her trademark brand of spacy, throwback folk ballads that are so tiny and so delicate and so tender and so gentle and so subtle. Her last full-length LP, Quiet Signs, certainly lived up to its title,sonically. As an overall LP, it was also very short, sweet, somewhat entrancing too, but a bit meager in terms of overall album length as well as layers.

Five years later, after that record with this new one here, Jessica is, yeah, she's doing what she does best, even sticking to the nine-track, 27-minute run time formula, but actually with some more instrumental details to offer. This time around some pretty strong songs on the single side of this record, too.

Now, the opening track, "Life Is," which was our first taste of this album, does end a little abrupt for my liking, but I have to admit, Jessica is nailing it on the production side of this thing with these dramatic, Brill Building pop style drum beats, downstrummed guitars, and some sparkling metallic tones hanging out there in the air, too.

It's an eerie, nostalgic folk-pop dream, a wash in drain pipe echo. And then lastly, with this track, there's Jessica's voice, which is now and has always been, for those who are uninitiated, small in a way that feels a little uncanny and alien at times, but still beautiful. Without any familiarity with her music, one might even assume that her voice comes across as high as it does because there's some effect or pitch shift at play. But I assure you that is not what is happening here. It's just a wonder as to how one person's voice can sound like a little tiny mouse wearing a nightcap, snuggling up on a cotton ball in a matchbox. Her voice actually sounds especially interesting on this record as it's layered up in these Lala background vocal harmonies on the song, "Better Hate," but I digress. Opener is pretty solid.

Following that, we also had "World on a String." Excellent track. One of Jessica's best songs yet, in my opinion. We also have more haunting touches of keys and background vocal harmonies in the mix. But for me, it's really the chorus on this thing. I want to be the sunlight of the century. Jessica is able to make a chorus work so well to the point where it's instantaneous, but at the same time keep it so, so quiet. It's really a testament to her songwriting ability as well as her knack for re-appropriating these '60s folk popisms.

There's also the final teaser to this record and the closer to it the last year, which is snappy in its own right, too. There are some big Simon and Garfunkel vibes on this track, but if you took, they're already stark and very simple and stripback sound on some of their best tracks and somehow made it even simpler. Jessica delivers some very gentle but memorable melodies across the track. But really, one of the most interesting things about the song is the lyrics, which in one sense are heartwarming as they are very much about a relationship or connection going on forever or just hoping and being assured that that will continue to be the case, despite this larger context in the song that seems to come from a pretty dark place. Jessica describes being out of luck, out of time, not being able to get out of bed, being plagued by the last year, being said to be better off than dead. Despite all of this, there's still a ray of hope.

When it comes to these teasers, even though I did enjoy them quite a bit, on some of the deeper cuts, I felt a little led astray, be that on "Get Your Head Out" as well as by "Hook or by Crook," which goes in a decidedly bossanova direction. The structure of both these tracks, in my opinion, meanders. They don't go into any strong hooks or anything like that. They don't develop or swell or grow into anything that stands out to my ears. I mean, I know Jessica doesn't want to give us too much to go off of on a lot of these tracks. It's very much a less is more approach, but keeping things as quiet and as stripped back as she does, and then on top of that, giving us songs that don't really have a strong of direction, at least for me, that's going to lead to underwhelming results. I feel roughly the same about nowhere it was, though I will say there was certainly something to taking that track into such a creepy and droney direction that it becomes like this ambient-esque folk piece that's a little grouper style.

"Empires Never Know," though, is a pretty strong piano ballad. Then from there, we go into the "Glances" instrumental, which I think is a pretty stupendous part of the album that sets things up really nicely for the finishing track. In a nutshell, that is the record. That is the Jessica Pratt album. There's not a whole lot to go over, but the majority of what's here is likable, melancholic, moving. The singing and songwriting at the core of many of these tracks is enchanting. I think the fact that Jessica did add in some more instrumental details and layers, it's what makes this album a bit better than its predecessor.

I still feel like I'm at a point where I am left wanting more, again, but I guess this time just a little bit more. I'm not looking for a night and day difference here. I'm not looking for a 180 in terms of style and how Jessica makes her music. I feel like for something that is this soft and this subtle, just a little bit of extra detail, just a little bit of extra keys, drums, something, vocals, anything will make a world of difference, especially with these tracks that maybe don't contrast all that much from point A to point B.

Still, though, I did enjoy this record quite a bit, and I think this is Jessica's strongest showing since her debut toward the start of the 2010s, which is why I'm feeling a light to decent seven on this one.

Anthony Fantano, Jessica Pratt, Forever.