Jesse - Hard Sky (2017)

Hard Sky is the anomalous solo debut of Corpus Christi, TX based Jesse Jerome Jenkins V (of Pure X). Whereas Pure X wrote their languid songs as a unit of shared consciousness, Jesse's Hard Sky is a remarkably singular effort that puts the singer & multi-instrumentalist on full display from the inside out. Self-recorded, and taking on the majority of the instrumental duties throughout the LP, Hard Sky is a direct expression of Jenkins' bleak, yet playful, personal creative attitude; all narrated and guided by his unmistakable buoyant vocals. By integrating influences from all modern eras, but operating outside of strict styles and traditions, Jesse's solo debut achieves a balance and identity that is as impossible to categorize as it is devilishly inviting to listen to.
Unpredictable, spontaneous, yet deliberate and intentional in its compositional trajectory, Hard Sky precariously sets a course lead by Jenkins' endearing embrace of both the euphoric and abysmal actualities of this life. By invoking the aid of luck, fittingly the title of the album's opener, a palpable, pervasive acknowledgement that both the highest highs and lowest lows are equally possible permeates throughout the LP. These eventualities are, of course, approached with equal reverence but differing preference. Life's impossibly dark moments are given levity with an unattached restraint and maturity across the album as Jenkins watches his thoughts, losses, joys, and existential-crises pass over the horizon like clouds in the sky. Both lyrically and musically, it's almost as if Jenkins is simultaneously laughing at life's inevitable struggles while accepting that he is barely hanging on.