Jade McNelis

Courtesy of Good Fences records, I received a nice little nugget in the post in the form of the debut EP from Jade McNelis, entitled 'All The Fables'. Co-produced by Chris Seligman (of Stars) and Drew Malamud (known for his work with The Dears, Death From Above 1979 and Stars), as well as featuring a host of other "famous" names. Murray Lightburn of The Dears, Andrew Barr of The Slips and Gregory Paquet, formerly of The Stills provide competent instrumentation throughout.

Much of Jade's six track EP remains subdued but the melodica on 'Lies And Locks' breathes life into the record and is a sign of her ambition and invention. 'Miles Over Seas' also shows a feisty side to the singer-songwriter but sadly, the EP has little more of this, with Jade preferring despairing ballads over a more spiky sound. Her collaborators also allow their influences to seep through onto the record but this compliments Jade's youth (she is only twenty years old). Not that she lacks wordly experience having been born in Taiwan before being adopted by an American couple and settling down in Florida.


Photo credit - Sanchez Brothers

The 'All The Fables' EP lies somewhere along the lines of Regina Spektor meets Radiohead but lacking the hypnotic intensity of the aforementioned artists. Nonetheless, Jade manages to tell her own stories (as alluded to in the EP title) and can only mature and progress as her career continues upwards.

Jade McNelis - Lies And Locks
Jade McNelis - Miles Over Seas

Buy 'All The Fables' from Amazon Canada [link] and if you're in Canada for the next few weeks, it might be an idea to go watch Jade McNelis. Dates are available on her MySpace [link].