Here in the Pitch is the fourth album from San Francisco folk singer-songwriter, and guitarist Jessica Pratt. I discovered her through her contribution to the phenomenal ASAP Rocky track, “Highjack.” Her voice is warm and captivating, and I’ve heard great things about her music, so naturally I grew curious and I don’t know how I missed out on her latest record. Now I’ve decided I’m going to make up for that with this review. Here are my thoughts.

    I have some experience with folk music, like when I listened to Kacey Musgraves’ newest album, I’ve also listened to some Bob Dylan. I really like the sound of this album overall though, it feels like you’re going back in time to the 1960s. “Life Is,” has this psychedelic quality with an impactful string orchestra, and Pratt’s heavily reverbed vocals. After that is probably my favorite track on the record, “Better Hate.” I love the gentle backdrop of guitars as well as Jessica’s calming vocals. She’s an incredibly talented as a singer, songwriter, and guitarist, and her voice is very unique. I mean that in a great way, as it’s joyous to hear, it sounds different than any other mainstream singer I’ve listened to in my life. I like the lyrics, “I've been clear before, what's the longing there? (Clear before). Just a sad case, I'm nobody's fool. And you've won it all, but your smile'll be gone (Won it all). In the end when you're yesterday's news.” The sound of this album is heavily acoustic and minimalist, production wise, and it complements her vocals really well, as a result. “World on a String,” and “Get Your Head Out,” are two tracks that shine as excellent examples of that sound. They’re also easily some of my favorite tracks on the album. I will say that the lyrical themes of this record seem kind of open to interpretation, but that might be intentional. The percussion is also very minimal in this album on tracks like, “By Hook or by Crook.”  The emotions that these tracks generate range from melancholy to joy, which make it a very worthwhile listen from front to back. 

   I’m glad I went back to listen to this album and review it, as now Jessica Pratt has become one of my new favorite artists. Her ability to curate such a cohesive yet individualistic album is nothing short of remarkable. It’s not perfect, but it’s close to perfect, and it is so hard picking a least favorite track, though it’s probably the track, “Glances,” as it is too short, in my opinion. I wish that this album was longer, because I want to hear more from this talented artist. It’s such a rewarding listen for anyone who appreciates music, so I can’t recommend it enough. Easily one of the best records of 2024.

Overall Score: 9/10

Favorite Tracks: “Life Is,” “Better Hate,” “World on a String,” “Get Your Head Out,” “By Hook or by Crook,” “Empires Never Know,”

Least Favorite Tracks: “Glances,”

Listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=Qw3CX6nUTvU

Genres: Folk/Psychedelic Folk