I've Got Me (studio album) by Joanna Sternberg

This makes a really welcome change from so much recent singer songwriter music which, even if it's not outright bad, leaves very little impact on me. Central here is Joanna's voice, which has a roughness that seizes you through each of these pared back tracks. They remind me a little of Joanna Newsom on The Milk Eyed Mender, which I think also succeeds in its directness. It's helped along by the simple and mostly solo compositions which do just enough to back up the vocal performances without overpowering them. The Human Magnet Song is the only exception to this, it's not a bad track at all but it's full band performance is quite jarring after 10 much more minimal songs. The lyrics are the other big stand out point here, like few other records they've got an emotional honestly that's almost uncomfortable to listen to. Joanna shows the sadness and bitterness caused by a break up and how it twists their perspectives towards their ex partner and themselves, especially on a track like People Are Toys to You. I think these sentiments are so effective because of their uncomfortable familiarity, lots of people will have these kinds of thoughts when they're pushed to their limits and because of their nastiness we don't really like to lay them out and confront them like Joanna does here.