I almost took the easy road out by judging the CD by its cover. I thought that perhaps this was just another potentially fearsome twosome accompanied by some clever and wistful lyrics, with some funk thrown in for good measure and some bass-driven tracks, end of story, then soon forgotten. Thank my discerning ears that I was very wrong. Jette-Ives is an amalgamation of Jette Kelly, a classically-trained vocalist, and Holmes Ives, a distinguished composer and producer, both of whom come from clubland backgrounds
Introduced to one another via a 'Tipping Point'-inspired mutual friend (Derrick Miller) at a party in 2005, little did these two nondescript powerhouses realize that once they were put into a recording studio, they soon learned that they had much in common, namely emotionally- and romantically-fueled relationships with people— so much so that they would go on to burn, churn, and inspire an auspicious collaboration of epic proportions.
The CD cooks; it doesn't rock so much as it simmers at just the right temperature throughout the nearly hour's worth of material. And many of the ingredients that make up this well-crafted debut album create and sustain a magnificent texture of Jazz-influenced, downtempo, lyrically-driven, and often times thought-provoking awkwardness usually found in the writing of someone who sardonically lives and leads a debaucherous lifestyle rife with booze and sex. But there is a breaking point to these two tempestuous characters that the 11 track "In The Deep" addresses well.
Jette's classically trained vocals are reminiscent of a combination of Tracey Thorn of Everything But The Girl, a little bit of Madonna, Fiona Apple, and, if you can believe it, Lena Horne. The juxtaposition of Ives' underlying and visceral scoring, sub-texturing luscious beats and tranquil, sometimes trippy, euphoric synths beautifully accompany Jette's soothing, Jazz-noir vocals. This is both a breath of infinite fresh air that smells good during any one season as well as a welcome change of pace to the deeply-saturated marketplace that is Electronica.
While I thoroughly enjoyed every track, of course I did have my
stand-out favorites:
Track 2—Vexed: A cool, bassy melting pot of synths in this breakdown
of tricky, sometimes awkward relationship paradoxes that can 'vex' a
woman to no uncertain terms.
Track 3—In The Presence of…: Things speed up just a bit with lyrics
delving into "persuasively persuasive," "orgasms on the verge," and
other "trysts" that go hump-n-bump in the night; a lasciviously
delicious track.
Track 4—Wicked Game: A wonderful remake of the 1998 Chris Isaak song
with a back room, smoke-filled film-noir sensibility.
Track 5—Proximity: An upright bassist and piano reign on this one as
Jette's lyrics about avoidance and closeness is a conundrum each of us
can identify with.
Track 7—Supine: An all-out Jazz ensemble track with a bevy of backing
instruments wreaks anything but 'indifference' or 'passivity.'
