Jelly Road
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| Jelly Road | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 14, 2023 | |||
| Studio | Sound City Studios, Los Angeles, California | |||
| Genre | Experimental rock[1] | |||
| Length | 45:40 | |||
| Language | English | |||
| Label | New Deal Records/Verve Forecast | |||
| Producer |
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| Blake Mills chronology | ||||
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I don't necessarily make records with a lot of a mission statement. Other than having songs written, you're kind of going out on the lake with a fishing pole. You know there's fish there. You don't know how long it's going to take for you to catch one. You might have a day where for some reason you don't catch anything. That's what it's like to go into the studio when I'm making most things. Certainly solo records.
Jelly Road is a 2023 album by American singer-songwriter Blake Mills. It has received positive reviews from critics and was promoted with a concert tour alongside collaborator Chris Weisman[4] and the singles "Skeleton Is Walking"[5] and "There Is No Now".[6] The album marks a return to recording from Mills who had focused on production and collaboration on others' albums and features his first time being co-produced by an outside musician[2] and features extensive co-writing by Weisman who had previously worked with Mills on Daisy Jones & the Six.[7]
Editors at The Fader chose Jelly Road to be among the best music of the week.[8] Writing for Mojo, James McNair rated this album 4 out of 5 stars, calling it "experimental yet accessible" and comparing the music to The Band and Fleetwood Mac.[9] Critics for NPR's All Songs Considered included this among the notable releases of the week.[10] At Pitchfork, Evan Minsker shortlisted this as one of the best albums of the week[11] and critic Allison Hussey rated it an 8.0 out of 10, calling it "smooth and satisfying from start to finish" and "an invigorating listen" akin to hauntology.[1] At Uncut, Sam Richards rated this release 4 out of 5 stars for showing that Mills is "a person who cares deeply – even obsessively – about his chosen artform, and its ability to delight, console and transform"[12] and the publication's editors named it the 43rd best album of 2023.[13]
Track listing
All songs written by Blake Mills and Chris Weisman, except where noted.
- "Suchlike Horses" – 5:13
- "Highway Bright" – 3:24
- "Jelly Road" (Ben Aylon, Blake Mills, and Chris Weisman) – 2:55
- "Skeleton Is Walking" – 5:58
- "Unsingable" – 3:02
- "Wendy Melvoin" – 2:58
- "The Light Is Long" – 3:14
- "Breakthrough Moon" – 4:28
- "There Is No Now" – 2:20
- "Press My Luck" – 4:34
- "A Fez" (Cass McCombs, Mills, and Weisman) – 3:15
- "Without an Ending" – 4:19
Personnel
"Suchlike Horses"
- Blake Mills – acoustic guitar, rubber-bridge acoustic guitar, fretless sustainer guitar, Paradis Avalon guitar, inverted tuning acoustic guitar, ARP 2600 synthesizer, Fender Rhodes electric piano, upright piano, vocals
- G. Weller – acoustic guitar
- Gabi Zachetto – vocals
"Highway Bright"
- Blake Mills – drums, percussion, hard right electric bass guitar, harmonium, grand piano, celesta, Paradis Avalon guitar, prepared electric guitar, vocals
- Sam Gendel – bass saxophone
- Wendy Melvoin – prepared electric guitar
- Chris Weisman – drums, percussion, hard left electric bass guitar, synthesizer guitar, celesta, prepared electric guitar
"Jelly Road"
- Blake Mills – acoustic guitar upright bass, inverted tuning acoustic guitar, rubber-bridge electric guitar, June 106 synthesizer, rubber-bridge tenor bass guitar, guitar synthesizer, vocals
- Wendy Melvoin – vocals
- Abe Rounds – drums
- Chris Weisman – Yamaha Venova soprano saxophone, Fender Rhodes electric piano, vocals
"Skeleton Is Walking"
- Blake Mills – acoustic guitar, inverted tuning acoustic guitar, upright bass, fretless sustainer guitar, Juno 106 synthesizer, DX100 synthesizer, percussion, vocals
- Abe Rounds – drums
- Kyle Thomas – electric tremolo guitar, percussion
- Chris Weisman – acoustic guitar, Yamaha Venova soprano saxophone, percussion
"Unsingable"
- Blake Mills – upright piano, fretless sustainer guitar, vocals
- Sam Gendel – electronic wind controller
- Abe Rounds – drums, percussion
- Chris Weisman – Yamaha Venova soprano saxophone
"Wendy Melvoin"
- Blake Mills – harmonica, acoustic guitar, upright bass, fretless sustainer guitar
- Sam Gendel – contrabass recorder
- Larry Goldings – upright piano Akai S612 sampler, DX100 synthesizer
- Abe Rounds – drums, percussion
"The Light Is Long"
- Blake Mills – acoustic guitar, upright bass, percussion, fretless sustainer guitar, vocals
- Teddy Geiger – percussion
- Sam Gendel – electronic wind controller
- Chris Weisman – inverted tuning acoustic guitar, Yamaha Venova soprano saxophone
"Breakthrough Moon"
- Blake Mills – electric guitar, slide guitar, electric bass guitar, acoustic guitar, Paradis Avalon guitar, percussion, vocals
- Meg Duffy – vocals
- Stuart Johnson – drums
- Roger Manning Jr. – Acetone organ, Hammond C3 organ
- Kane Ritchotte – percussion
"There Is No Now"
- Blake Mills – acoustic guitar, percussion, tuned percussion, electric bass guitar, fretless sustainer guitar, synthesizer, vocals
- Sam Gendel – contrabass recorder
- Abe Rounds – drums, percussion
- Chris Weisman – grand piano
"Press My Luck"
- Blake Mills – acoustic guitar, grand piano, rubber-bridge tenor bass guitar, Paradis Avalon guitar, vocals
- Abe Rounds – drums
- Wendy Melvoin – electric wah-wah guitar
- Chris Weisman – grand piano solo
"A Fez"
- Blake Mills – acoustic guitar, inverted tuning rubber-bridge slide electric guitar, upright bass, vocals
"Without an Ending"
- Blake Mills – electric guitar, electric bass guitar, percussion, grand piano, fretless sustainer guitar, vocals
- Sam Gendel – saxophone
- Jesca Hoop – vocals
Technical personnel
- Julian Chavez – album design, package design
- Daniel Krieger – mastering for vinyl at SST, Frankfurt, Germany
- Joseph Lorge – recording, mixing, photography
- Blake Mills – mixing, production, photography
- Mike Piscitelli – cover photography
- Patricia Sullivan – mastering at Bernie Grudman Mastering at Hollywood, California, United States
- Kyle Thomas – photography, album design
- Chris Weisman – production, photography
