On her fourth album, Jenny Wilson is right up close and personal, for this is one tough woman who refuses to shirk even her darkest issues. She is immediately happy to sing about the ‘scar, so fresh across my heart’ in ‘Restless Wind’, which would appear to refer to her battle with breast cancer three years ago. And yet here she is, on the other side, writing with what she calls ‘the lust for life and an exultant anger’. It’s a perfect illustration of how she approaches music on this record, which has some sharp edged electro and percussion and some full on vocals, but still at times has a soft and more vulnerable emotional centre. Those emotions vary wildly, but retain an outright kick-ass confidence (‘My History’ and ‘Battle With God’). Even the slower songs, such as the closing ‘Ghost Station’, keep a powerful sense of resolve in their vocals. Wilson says, ‘I’ve never done a greater record. Never written poetry with a sharper pen before. I had no choice’. Who am I to argue?
5 out of 5
Reviewed by Ben Hogwood
