Jessie Baylin - Dark Place

Nashville-based singer songwriter Jessie Baylin has become famous over the last few years as the better half of Kings Of Leon drummer Nathan Followill. Dark Place, her fourth album, may shift the emphasis to her music. Dedicated to their baby daughter, Violet, it sees Baylin teaming up with longtime producer and co-writer, Richard Swift, for 11 rather beautiful tunes that blend dream pop with a kind of southern gothic country, as if Beach House were providing the soundtrack for True Blood.
The opening ‘Creepers (Young Love)’ is a perfect calling card. Dark, squelchy bass and fuzzy guitar combine to couch a classic croon-fest: think Shirley Manson’s Garbage covering Patsy Cline and you’re somewhere in the same cotton plantation. Then there’s the gothic torch and twang of ‘To Hell And Back’, the warm and graceful ‘Kiss Your Face’ and ‘Black Blood’, whose uber-catchy country swing is far sweeter than its title would suggest.
‘The Ringer’ sees Baylin literally waltzing through relationship troubles, admitting that “All the things that we are going through/ Takes a lot to keep myself cool”, while the lush chamber pop of ‘London Time’ and ‘Do You Wanna Dance?’ sound like Cole Porter love songs given a modern production spit and polish.
‘White Noise’ takes the drum-beat from The Ronettes’ ‘Be My Baby’ and tugs it in dark directions for a beautifully layered love song with divine harmonies, while ‘All That I Can Do’ adds a sprinkling of Dusty-esque soul to proceedings. The beautiful ‘Lungs’ sees Baylin worrying, “If you care too much, someone’s gonna break your heart/ If you don’t care enough, the world is gonna chew you up”.
Lush and lovely, this entire album is like cocooning yourself in a duvet and sticking on the best lullabies you’ve never heard.

Key Track - 'Black Blood'