Essie Jain

Essie Jain - "TOP LIVE SHOWS"
Thu 30; Joe’s Pub
It’s not uncommon for people to say that a singer wraps her voice around a song, but when Essie Jain drops her polished, nearly operatic tone to its lower register, it almost seems to get there before the lyrics themselves. The English-born, locally based artist has been playing the city’s rotation of singer-songwriter-oriented clubs for the past couple of years, most often in a duo with guitarist Patrick Glynn (as at this show) but occasionally with a sextet. As if to show that, even in a scene as crowded as this one, the cream still does rise to the top, Jain is making the natural leap to Joe’s Pub. Since her trajectory has been a slow, steady ascent, it’s likely that if this is the first you’ve heard of her, it won’t be the last.
    Due to the formal modesty of her arrangements, it’s tempting to say that Jain plays folk music. More accurately, her songs (with titles such as “Talking,” “Give” and “Loaded”) are simply timeless—meaning they bear no real connection to trends and might have been made any time over the past three or four decades. The music (a trickle of demos feature her accompanied by spare guitar or piano) serves only to support her songwriting, clear-eyed depictions of the emotional gravity that results when personalities come together and come apart. Jain is still developing her talent and voice, a powerful instrument that she rarely lets loose. But her rise is proof that the simplest things are the most undeniable.
—Mike Wolf, Time Out NY

A young Brit who now lives in New York, Jain is something of 21st-century folkie: She writes songs that sound informed by folk traditions, but they are clearly modern in content and feeling. Jain's husky, appealing voice is suited to her melancholy and intriguing material.   
- Washington Post, Joe Heim


Essie is British and she also plays *very* charming & romantic music that makes me feel warm and wobbly-knee'd - if you can, you should bring a date and MAKE OUT WITH THEM.
- The Nightlight, Ryan Martin

Ms Jain is an English transplant with a soulful voice reminiscent of Hope Sandoval. Heartfelt expression that tastefully avoids preciousness. Graceful slide guitar and minimal piano shade in the borders.
- Voice Choices pick, Village Voice - east coast press