Joan As Policewoman - The Classic

Joan Wasser gave us a glimpse of the surprises she might be capable of on 2011’s The Deep Field, where she forsook her previous incarnation as melancholic piano-tinkler and embraced a rapturous soul-swell. She plunges further down the rabbit hole on her fourth studio album, an old-school blues and funk affair that sees the 43 year old Connecticut singer close the deal on her makeover as hardcore soul-maven.

Such a transformation is difficult to carry off without the whiff of cultural tourism or, worse yet, cynical appropriation. It helps that Wasser has a fantastic voice, bleeding with emotion even as it is capable of considerable deftness and nuance. Some of the sentiments are a little out there, it’s true: Motown-tinged single ‘Holy City’ was inspired by a visit to Jerusalem’s ‘Wailing Wall’, where Wasser had the revelation that music and religion are part of the same process of transcendence and self discovery. But there’s grit to go with the saccharine – ‘Wailing Wall’ finishes with a scatted rap from comedian/musician Reggie Watts. His presence speaks to a wider truth about Wasser – she is capable of the most dulcet moments, but they come with an impressively potent edge.