Jesse Welles
Pilgrim
***and1/2 out of *****
One of the fastest risers in the folk music scene Jesse Welles, releases music constantly on social media and his albums allow him to stretch out from his direct acoustic song. Pilgrim brings in a producer and guests expanding the prolific artists sound with some benefits and drawbacks.
Earlier this year he released a 63 song album titled Under The Powerlines which was the raw audio to his viral videos as well as (amazingly) four other albums, so the term prolific certainly fits as Welles is everywhere these days. Each of the tracks presented on Pilgrim has a raw acoustic counterpart already out in the world, so the comparison of which version people prefer will always be present.
Produced by Ed Spear (Zach Bryan) the idea is to flush out the acoustic songs with varying degrees of polish and shine. Things start raw though as "We're All Gonna Die" is plain and to the point as Welles raspy vocals and acoustic guitar get apocalyptic around modern companies, fiddles, harmonica and a smirk while "Change is in the Air" is more produced with haunting motifs, vibrating strings, layers of sound and a squirrely guitar solo. Celloist Nat Smith, Christian Ward (Fiddler) & Nate Leath (Violin) are all credited as helping contribute to the string sounds found throughout the album.
One of the album highlights is "Forever, Whatever" which contains great turns of phrases from Welles in Todd Snider like fashion with added sounds really supporting the song as big strings, noodling guitar and harmonica all increase the impact. The spiritual "Gilgamesh" also works wonderfully with swelling strings, "Grapes of Wrath" is emotionally affecting and the title track has great tone, picking and lyrics in Cat Stevens like fashion.
By taking some time and flushing out these songs more Welles also has the luxury of bringing in some guests to help transform his tunes. On "Far From Home" Welles sings with Sierra Ferrell during the stripped, down home duet while Billy Strings comes onboard for the upbeat "Philanthropist" which uses a bumping baseline, good picking and modern day exploitation of the working class lyrics in Woodie Guthrie fashion.
At times the production can be a bit much. "Will The Computer Love the Sunset" is one of Welles best songs and the version here crowds the track with banjos, horns, strings and a sense of more is better when that may not be the case. Interestingly "GTFOH" is a throwback to Welles punk roots and could use the full band (drums, bass) experience to put it over the top. The closer "Wild Onions" is a wide ranging offering that sums up Welles as it can be rambling, sublime, weird, off-kilter, witty, and powerful while trying to find the right balance.
Welles has been releasing so much music it can be overwhelming. He has leveraged social media to his benefit, making his "official releases" a touch less impactful, but they are still important as he can expand his musical scope. A lot like Townes Van Zandt's studio albums as opposed to his live sparse acoustic albums, Jesse Welles seems to be searching for that right balance between production and rawness. Fans will always prefer one over the other, but Welles is clearly on the right path and Pilgrims is a stout offering of his talents.
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