Jaimee Harris’ debut disc bookends opposing approaches: the broiling, biting, opening push of “Damn Right” and the ethereal, slowly sinking piano pull of closer “Where Are You Now.” Both are about loss, surviving, and struggling to find strength, sometimes fierce and defiant, sometimes crushing and barely holding on. Red Rescue spans that emotional depth across 10 tracks, bolstered by the singer’s sharp melodies and hooks: the Aimee Mann balance of “Creatures” and soft descent of “Fake.” “Depressive State” swirls in the fluctuation of her powerful vocals, low growl and reaching high tremble, into the easy acoustic reaffirmation of standout “Catch It Now.” The LP centerpiece and title track slowly draws a tension until the swelling break of the close, lifted by the late Jimmy LaFave’s shading vocals. As demonstrated by the exceptional, day-after sobriety of “Snow White Knuckles,” Jaimee Harris excels in uncompromising self-examination, raw yet articulate in her promising first offering.
This article appears in October 26 • 2018.
