Essie Jain - The Inbetween

Originally from London before she immersed herself in New York café-folk culture, Essie Jain garnered favourable comparisons with the likes of Joni Mitchell, Vashti Bunyan and Cat Power when her debut album We Made This Ourselves was released last spring. Although the comparisons aptly highlight the hushed quality of her more affecting moments, on the basis of second full-length The Inbetween they are also unduly flattering. Though blessed with a soulful voice capable of investing every sung syllable with sweet, fragile emotion, musically Jain too often seems content to settle for tired folk cliches rather than writing songs worthy of her vocal talents. The album title, Jain explains, refers to a metaphorical state of limbo “between two worlds - one behind, one in front” - an unfortunate summary of an album too in thrall to the tradition in which it is steeped to exhibit any strong identity of its own. [Chris Buckle]