Jake Newton: Press

As impressive as the first EP (I’m a Bird) was, Jake Newton assures the deliverance of the second masterpiece that will surely tune your heart to the structure of which combines the following feelings all together: love, delicate, delight, and leaves you with a taste to needing more.

Jake Newton plays american music. its rich and opaque and vigilant - his songs sleep with one eye open. full of curiosity about the world outside and in. gentle lullabies that he hums while reaching into the wilderness...

Listening to Jake Newton felt like I was walking the streets of NYC full of heartbreak but yet the hope of heaven

Singer/Songwriters make you sick don’t they? They always seem to boo-hoo all over your parade when you’re trying to have a party. You probably shutter at the sound of an open-chord strum. While there have been plenty half-assed artist that give any acoustic six-stringer a bad name, we sometimes overlook those that actually put feeling into their music. Some may wear their heart on their sleeve for fashions sake, but Jake Newton’s seems to know no other place to be. The music drips with honesty and emotion sung in the language of personal experience-- a language that is very hard to fake. “Just Showing Off” accuses and accepts blame in the same breathe. Lines like “Here’s where it meets in the tangling of sheets/Where the histories been repeated over and over again” admit the guilty act of dual-consent. It may sound like sappy stuff, especially if you’ve built a defense mechanism against anything remotely emotional or sincere, but you may also discover how nice it can be when you let your heart live outside your chest every now and then.

I'm A Bird is an impressive first display of songwriting ability and execution by Jake Newton. The production level nears perfection for this style of music, with airy acoustic guitars, biting mandolin, and understated harmonies complementing outstanding vocal performances. I'm A Bird is lyrically dazzling, which enables Jake Newton to stand out in the often-overwhelmed signer/songwriter genre.

I'm A Bird begins with its extraordinary namesake "I'm A Bird," a complex fusion of mandolin, distorted guitar, beautiful lyrics and vocal execution. "I'm A Bird" generates a remarkable amount of interest through the juxtaposition of instrumentation and vocal performance; imagine Chris Thile sitting in with Radiohead. This song epitomizes the lyrical accomplishment of the entire EP with, "You're the note in my pants reaching right near the crotch; I'm the same tween that lace and your breast." Lyrically, I'm A Bird is often witty, almost sardonic in spots, and this aspect is what definitively separates it from other albums in this genre.

"Monk in a Tomb" is the simple, pretty, second selection of I'm A Bird. Lyrically the song is strong, but the glass-fragile falsetto vocal performance is the key to making "Monk In A Tomb" a superior piece. The song ends with a flourish of steel guitar and harmony, which is very well done. The catchy chorus "Cause in my heart; You're an angel" is evidence of the possible commercial success that could follow for Jake Newton with I'm A Bird.

The EP continues with "Awake" and "Who Killed All My Heroes," and both songs continue the strong lyrical content of the EP. "Awake" has the strongest bluegrass feel of all of the songs on I'm A Bird, and some nice harmonies give a solid feel overall to the song. "Who Killed All My Heroes" is a slightly darker selection, with almost a Postal Service quality to the vocal arrangement and performance. This song contains probably the best lyrical line of the EP with, "Children be wary of sad songs and poets; they're contagious just like the flu," and an interesting, disjointed bridge that adds a tremendous amount in the context of the song.

"Just Showing Off" and "You'll Be Alright" complete I'm A Bird with a nice showing. "Just Showing Off" is made up of an undeniably interesting rhythm pattern with the guitar, and an extremely high-quality vocal performance. "You'll Be Alright" is the longest song of the EP at over 7 minutes. While this song is beautiful lyrically and musically, it tends to drag some without new melodic or musical ideas being introduced throughout to maintain interest.

I'm A Bird is a high-quality collection of selections that are undoubtedly worth a listen. The production quality, lyrics, and vocal performance combined with the songwriting of Jake Newton form a successful EP for this genre, without question.