Jessamine

Over a series of tuneless vocals and duets, Jessamine’s debut album presents some of the most intriguing noise-pop since My Bloody Valentine and Medicine were in their heyday. From the textural noise of the opener, it might be assumed that the group pursues distortion for its own sake, though later vocal tracks “Secret,” “Royal Jelly Eye Cream” and “Inevitably” each include delicious pieces of guitar distortion that accents the fragile melodies exceptionally well. Slipping between abstract noise akin to label-mates Labradford and bass-driven pop songs may not be for everyone, but Jessamine does it better than most. – Keith Farley