Jaye Bartell released his first album, Feeling Better, Pilgrim, in 2008. The album incorporated live incidental sounds (wind, chimes, traffic, birds), some of which were manipulated and processed as loops, but emphasized vocal melody and lyrics above all. A typical performance from this time included guitar and voice accompanied by a portable turntable that played field recordings of bird song, ocean waves, wind and other incidental sounds. Bartell moved to Greenpoint, Brooklyn in 2013, where he began working on the new set of material that would eventually be released on his new LP, Loyalty...

Loyalty is the new album from Jaye Bartell, containing 10 songs (33 min, 38 sec). It opens promisingly with 'Lilly', a sweet way to introduce us to Bartell's new sound.

Maybe the one sticking point, that some won't be able to get past, is Bartell's vocals. In places he sounds a lot like Lou Reed, but with slightly less polish.

It's an interesting album that does grow on you the more times you listen to it. And there's enough diversity here to ensure that it's an album that will allow you to take a number of different elements away from it.

7

Nick Smithson