Jaye Bartell – Loyalty

Album Review by Andrew Gordon | 13 Oct 2015
Album title: Loyalty
Artist: Jaye Bartell
Label: Sinderlyn
Release date: 30 Oct

When Massachusetts-born poet-turned-songwriter Jaye Bartell asks “don’t you know me? I am your oldest friend” in the closing moments of his curious, captivating debut, you’d have a tough time calling him a liar. His offbeat turn of phrase and bedraggled drawl recall a long line of enigmatic weirdos that includes Lou Reed, a touch of Patti Smith and most definitely Nick Cave, with whom he shares a fondness for all things gloomy and macabre.

While you wouldn’t call it gothic – Bartell’s soft guitar tone and spartan arrangements are easy on the ear – his music is undeniably eerie. “Sweep up the glass with your eyelashes,” he patiently demands on one track as hyper-tight guitar strings tinkle like razorwire. “The ghost is me,” he reveals on another. Yet for all its nihilistic overtones, Loyalty isn’t a morose record. Instead, Bartell’s response to feelings of existential emptiness like is a long wistful sigh – a familiar sound, but a poignant one. [Andrew Gordon]

http://sinderlyn.com/artists/jaye-bartell