Album Review: Jasmine Cain - Seven

Things sometimes happen for the most inexplicable of reasons. A few years ago, as I was doing my daily browsing of new music, I was struck by the cover of one album. Without knowing anything other than the face I was looking at, I went and checked out the music behind those eyes. As it turned out, Jasmine Cain's "White Noise" was exactly the album I had been looking for. Since then, it has become one of the records I replay the most. That record was the perfect blend of "Since U Been Gone" and Halestorm's first record, with a sultry and powerful voice capable of making you stand up and say, "damn". Jasmine is also an incredibly cool, uplifting personality who I can't help but want to root for. So when she announced a new album, I was exceedingly eager to give it voice on this site.

What's different with this album is a bigger dose of rock and roll attitude. Jasmine has gotten heavier with these new songs, bringing some new influences into the mix. That includes the throaty almost growl that powers the opening "Burnout", as well as the grinding riff and rhythm underpinning "Do It For You". This album is far more about capturing the energy of a live show than before, where everything tends to get played a bit louder and heavier, once the adrenaline starts flowing.

"Be Brave" is the album's centerpiece, and rightfully served as the first single. Jasmine and her band fuse 80s guitar tones with 90s atmospheres, while her voice towers over everything. A lot of rock singers need flash or gimmicks, but not Jasmine. Give her any song, and her voice is big enough to fill it. There's something about her tone, which is able to be soft yet aggressive, with the exact amount of breathiness I love, that's magical.

I invoked early Halestorm in my introduction, which is rather fitting, because "Seven" has taken similar steps to what "Vicious" did. This is a more aggressive record, as well as one that tones down the more pop sense of melody for a rhythmic hookiness instead. The guitar and bass riffs are as central to the hook as Jasmine's vocals, which is a new twist for her music. What it means is that "Seven" is a record for a different mood than "White Noise" was. Whereas that record was (in my mind) a sunny summer day album, this one is much more a night at the bar album.

I've loved the song "Ghost" since Jasmine uploaded a video of her playing the song acoustically, and the new arrangement with the full band is just as good. The melody and her voice capture a beautiful sense of melancholy, making a poignant statement that sounds aching. It pulls back the curtain just enough to show a vulnerability the record needed to balance out the confidence and attitude the heavier tracks put forward. It serves to remind us that there's as much power in looking inward as in projecting outward.

"Seven" caught me a bit by surprise. I wasn't quite expecting this kind of record, though I could easily say being given something other than what you thought you were getting is often how the best things happen. "White Noise" was one side of Jasmine, and "Seven" is another. I appreciate being able to receive a more well-rounded image of who Jasmine is, both as an artist and a person. So while it might take an extra few spins to move into this new chapter of Jasmine's music, they are well worth the time. Jasmine has a knack for this.