Jaime Wyatt – Feel Good (2023) [Official Digital Download 24bit/48kHz]

Jaime Wyatt – Feel Good (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 45:01 minutes | 528 MB | Genre: Alt. Country, Roots Rock, Female Vocal
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © New West Records, LLC

“I’m still learning how to experience joy, how to be free, how to be comfortable in my own skin,” says Jaime Wyatt. “A lot of us grow up feeling like we have to hide who we are just to be accepted, but that comes from a place of fear and judgment. I wrote these songs as a way of letting go of all that, as permission to feel good.”Feel Good, Wyatt’s extraordinary new album, is more than just a permission slip, though: it’s an invitation. Recorded with Black Pumas’ Adrian Quesada, the record is bold and ecstatic, built on tight, intoxicating grooves that belie the songs’ substantial emotional stakes. Wyatt’s writing is raw and intuitive here, tapping into the deep recesses of her subconscious as she reckons with grief and growth, and her delivery is visceral to match, cutting straight to the bone with equal parts sensitivity and swagger. Taken as a whole, the collection stands as a radical act of creative liberation from an artist already known for pushing limits, a genre-defying work of healing and self-love that tips its cap to everything from Al Green and Otis Redding to Waylon Jennings and Bobbie Gentry in its relentless pursuit of peace and pleasure.

The connection between deep soul and country music is fortified thanks to an increasing number of singers like Jaime Wyatt. Wyatt also taps into another country music tradition: life behind bars. Having paid her debt, Wyatt’s knowledge of Cash and Haggard gave her debut Felony Blues an undeniable authenticity. Here she’s jumped a faster train with the guidance of producer/guitarist Adrian Quesada, who knows from his own band Black Pumas how to build arrangements around a strong voice. Throughout Feel Good Wyatt sings her heart out on a batch of solid originals that she’s co-written. Most operate in an effective cross between country confessional and full-on retro soul. Working with Quesada was a sage move. The smooth, low-key production of “Feel Good” feels very much like a Hall & Oates number but surrounds her voice in the right ways. The slow, horn and electric keyboards of “Hold Me One Last Time” borrows atmosphere from the much-loved Stax/Volt canon. With its chorus of female backup singers, it’s not a stretch to think of Tammi Terrell singing it. Quesada’s cutting electric guitar solo brings it back to the current century. Recorded and mixed at Electric Deluxe Recorders in Austin, Texas, by Quesada and engineer Aaron Glemboski, the sound is clear, uncomplicated and full-bodied. As both a songwriter and a singer, Wyatt is at her best writing about subjects she’s lived. In “Fugitive” she ponders, “They’ll cut a check and then they’ll call it alright /But that restitution is nowhere in sight.” Throughout Feel Good, Wyatt’s alto voice sends off words with the kind of commitment that says, “I’ve been there.” She digs even further into her past in “Ain’t Enough Whiskey” with co-writer Butch Walker singing harmony vocals: “And there ain’t enough whiskey to keep me warm at night/ And there ain’t enough cocaine to keep me standin’ upright.” Despite the title, Wyatt makes you believe that her hardships are real. – Robert Baird

Tracklist:
01. Jaime Wyatt – World Worth Keeping (03:42)
02. Jaime Wyatt – Feel Good (03:50)
03. Jaime Wyatt – Back To The Country (03:49)
04. Jaime Wyatt – Love Is A Place (03:05)
05. Jaime Wyatt – Hold Me One Last Time (04:35)
06. Jaime Wyatt – Where The Damned Only Go (04:41)
07. Jaime Wyatt – Althea (04:12)
08. Jaime Wyatt – Fugitive (04:15)
09. Jaime Wyatt – Jukebox Holiday (03:57)
10. Jaime Wyatt – Ain’t Enough Whiskey (04:46)
11. Jaime Wyatt – Moonlighter (04:05)

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