Melania Jack

Introducing….Melania Jack / In The Birds BellyWhen these recordings landed on my desk this January, on a snowy London morning, in a hard grey city where we don’t hold eye contact and we talk about the rain to avoid real conversations, I pressed play and found a rarefied warmth. I find these songs exquisite, In The Birds Belly is sunlight to my ears and here for once, is a refreshingly honest voice.Taking influences from country folk to a slap of ska or roots reggae, dare I say, early Gillian Welsh, Michelle Shocked or a young Ani DiFranco, we are entertained by something truthful and made with a quiet fury and a truly poetic heart. It’s a pleasure to be asked to introduce you to the music of Melania Jack and even more of a pleasure to introduce you to her personally and when I listen to these songs I am getting to do both, the artist and the lady. Nothing here is covered up, there is no mask and that is unique, that takes talent and raw guts.These lyrics spit in the eye of lover gone wrong, bathe a broken heart in smashed glass, raise the issues of the bigger picture, global consciousness and dare you to wake up and smell the fair-trade coffee. We are on a journey - from the haunting solitude captured in Back To The Stuff to the foxy sass of the punkier Gone. My personal favourite is the emotive dark skies of the stormy Sunday, this song kicks ass and gives me goosebumps on every play. The oceanic build is compelling, it is as exciting as hearing a storm brewing, the distant rumble of thunder getting closer, and closer, the crashing waves getting bigger, and bigger….in my opinion.But that’s enough of my opinion. Listen for yourself and if you actually ever get to meet Melania Jack in person buy her a beer from me to you, from the heart to the head to the belly of the bird. She is a rare bird - and this the kind of music that’s out there and nourishing you and it’s free - all you have to do is sit back and listen to the sunlight.Salena Godden / London / February 2009(Poet & Author) MyGen Profile Generator