Heartfelt acoustic troubadour with some exquisite songs
Jess Morgan is quickly working up a name for herself within the industry. No wonder; her storytelling lyrics and heartfelt, almost country-style delivery draw an audience right in, even on a medium as impersonal and precise as CD. What made me really understand what she was about was the little handwritten note that accompanied the CD. This is a songwriter who can connect with her audience and pour out her energy and lyrics to them, and her heart as well. There’s no more perfect example of this than the heartbreaking ‘Crosses’. And she’s not restricted to ballads, and the upbeat and expert acoustic rhythm of ‘Let It Come’ hints at influences from Mitchell and Dylan. The one song I didn’t quite ‘get’ was the shriek of ‘Like A Drum’, which felt dangerously like the schoolgirl poetry of Alanis Morrisette.
Her fiery delivery and lyrics benefit from the rough-and-ready live-style recording, because too much polish would ruin these little gems. Morgan is consistently good, and yet never seems to stick to one style, and the EP really does benefit from a variety of styles while retaining her own style. Give ‘We Are On Fire’ a listen; it’s a guaranteed anthem.