Picture the Ocean

Less than a year after their last album (Our Ghosts Will Fill These Walls) as the former Jesse D and Jacquie B, and now officially counting drummer Matt Blackie as a full time member, Picture the Ocean debuts with an album that tones down the folk and ups the pop quotient. Not much has changed lyrically; they still specialize in laid-back rhythms (Erewhon), road imagery, flux, relationships, the inner drama of real life (Scars), or at least real life according to a group of travelling musicians with a home that may as well be just the latest stop on tour. Their best songs sound like intimate conversations between the leads, the middling ones variations of a formula recognizable to their fans: tight, spacious and full bottomed folk-pop, so slick at times that by third or fourth listen many of Jesse D’s best lines (and he’s got more than a few) just disappear in a comfortable groove. - Tom Murray - The Edmonton Journal

Formerly known as Jesse Dee & Jacquie B, the duo has since added a permanent drummer in Matt Blackie and unveiled their new band name as Picture the Ocean. Recorded at Sound Extractor Studios in Edmonton, AB, their new self-titled record is a collection of lush alt-pop songs which draw heavily on their experiences touring over the past year as a newfound trio.

Trying desperately to describe their sound, all I can say is that Picture the Ocean sounds like the ocean. Not in a “fun-in-the-sun” kind of way, but more in a “therapeutic walk on the shore on a grey day, with your sweater wrapped around you and the cold water lapping around your toes as you escape whatever it is in your life that haunts you” kind of way. Jesse’s spritely guitar playing and Jacquie’s tinkling away on the keys/accordion is combined with their dual harmonies such that, “like a broken symphonic embrace,” the band is able to marry a beautiful yet simple orchestral sound with the morose melancholy feel that many of their lyrics carry.

This interesting juxtaposition of sound and words is seen in many of the record’s highlights, including “Being Me,” and “Wake Me Up,” which details the lonely homesickness that accompanies constantly being uprooted from home while on tour. “Scars” manages to encapsulate a bit more a light-hearted summertime feel to it despite its content that borders on the depressing. One lyric that really grabbed me was “My art is my therapy, it’s all that I’ve got.” I’d like to think that listening to finely crafted records such as this one can be is just as therapeutic for us non-musically inclined folk as writing and creating it must have been for the band in question. - Buying Shots For Bands

Pure melodic upbeat guitar-driven pop music played with style and passion. Canada’s Picture The Ocean is the trio comprised of Jesse Dee, Jacquie B, and Matt Blackie. These folks write and record cool mid-tempo classic pop tunes that should appeal to a wide range of listeners. These recordings have a nice open sound that is uncluttered and direct which allows you to focus on the wonderfully precise vocal harmonies. If you dig great classic guitar pop from the late 1980s and 1990s you will find a lot to love here. This may be a bit too safe and slick for some underground snobs…but fans wanting positive pure pop are gonna really go for this one. Ten well-crafted cuts here including “Erehwon,” “Wake Me Up,” “Scars,” and “The Storm.” - babysue.com

I first heard of these guys when they were working clubs and coffeehouses as Jesse Dee & Jacquie B. Their CD Our Ghosts Will Fill These Walls came across my desk and made its way into my player and the ghosts filled not only walls but my ears and my head and I wrote a favorable review. They were mostly acoustic but drifted into the electric, they had an intriguing sense of what a song was, and they had that certain something I describe as indefinable— that something that makes you want to hear more though you can’t quite put a finger on a reason. I knew they had it because long after the review was submitted, the music haunted me on long walks and in grocery lines. Their songs popped into my head at the oddest moments and at the drop of a hat and would linger there until they were done with me and I could move on. Unknowingly, I soon became enamored with the band (for they were not a duo but four— a bona-fide band) and while listening to other albums I would hear a phrase or a small movement which reminded me of someone I, for the life of me, could not place. More often than not, it turned out that it was from a track from Ghosts. A couple of times it almost drove me insane because some music drives itself deep and when I am reminded of it I want to relive it, or maybe just know what it is. It is a burr under my saddle, if you will.

After a couple of months I put the band behind me, though I pulled the album out on occasion for the needed adrenaline rush when the music I was hearing did not do the job. Not unlike Zeppelin and Skynyrd freaks pulling out their albums for that shot of “Stairway” or “Free Bird”, I played “Wells”, longing to hear the choral refrain of “Chopping wood, chopping wood, chopping wood, chopping wood”, Jesse and Jacquie’s voices happily “building our very own Woodstock” and ending the refrain with a joyful “hey”. I wrapped myself in the warmth of “For the Moon”, a cello- and Wurlitzer-driven ballad of wonder. There were others. There still are, but this is not about that album. This is about the new one.

When I heard that a new album was coming out but not by Jesse Dee & Jacquie B but Picture The Ocean, I got anxious. I reject change. I hate it. Their formula was a good one, a solid one, and I always think fixing something not broken a stupid thing. I asked for and received the music files a bit before release and dove in. The surprise was that I dove in to the same pool. Jesse Dee & Jacquie B are pretty much Picture The Ocean. There was Jesse and there was Jacquie and there was evenMatt Blackie, the drummer from the earlier album. Even Moses Greggplayed bass, so the band was intact. Only the name had changed. I settled in for the ride. Turns out it is a ride I would have really hated to to have missed.

There is a slight alternative rock feel to these guys which is hard to define, partially because of songwriting and partially because Jesse and Jacquie’s voices never really blend but work off of one another. Jesse’s guitar is what I would call open-ended, meaning that he relies on few electronic toys to get his sounds and prefers the straight guitar-to-amp sound. Jacquie is more of an instrumental presence in PTO, too, playing keyboards on most of the tracks— no flash, meaning that she plays mostly chords, but it is perfect for the sound and in fact makes it geometrically more pleasing. That full organ sound gives depth to what could be a sparse musicscape and which in fact is, when needed, and when she turns to electric piano and slightly synthesized sounds, she does it for an obvious reason. Blackie is perfection on drums, his riffs totally complimentary to each segment and measure, and Gregg proves himself a pro on bass.

Oh, to be able to sit with you and play this album in a relaxed atmosphere— with a cup of coffee or an ale and with no expectations of being anywhere else. That is what you need to really hear what this band does. It is not complicated and then again it is. The chord progressions are somewhat unique, the instruments layered beautifully and sound— oh, how I have come to love that sound! (Have you noticed how often I have used the words “sound” and “sounds”? I tried not to, honest, but the sound…..)

I know how much I sound like a PR person when I gush but this album makes me do it. The songwriting and arrangements are understated in their brilliance, the production adapted to the song of moment, the performance a study in ease (though you have to know how hard they worked to make it seem so). But you can make up your own mind. Their music is streaming below and on their bandcamp page. Go there. Pop a cold one and sit in your favorite chair and close your eyes. This is an album which just might strike you as hard as it strikes me.

An aside: I drove many miles to Portland, Oregon’s Alberta Street Pub just last week to see PTO live. It was worth every mile and the sleep I lost. If you get a chance to see them li - Frank Gutch Jr.

“…as dedicated citizens of the road they lay claim to whatever musical ground passes underneath them.” - Tom Murray, Edmonton Journal

“The barely contained snap of a funk groove melts into rockabilly tumbles into the purest of acoustic balladry. They tangle with folk or blues, the chords come out jazz;…and when they settle into a train beat, …it’s the closest they’ll get to standard issue country-rock.”

“Years together have also made Jesse and Jacquie a formidable singing team, more instinctive than technical, shadowing each other’s lines so closely at points you forget who is who.” - Tom Murray, Edmonton Journal

"They have this loose, rhythmic approach on some of their songs which sound vaguely Dead and a floating cohesiveness on others which lean mainstream and weave it all together with a Jesse/Jacquie vocal combination which is quite captivating"

"Musically, they borrow from anything and everything, logging in two measures here which sound quite Twenties and harmonies there which sound Thirties but all totally today. Forties? Fifties? Listen quick because they don’t last long and yet are integral to the songs like you can’t believe..." - Frank Gutch Jr. - Segarini

I remember a time when artists produced records that made sense from beginning to end, even if they weren’t deliberate attempts at presenting a “concept”. With the attitude that all songs on the record had to be keepers, artists worked harder on their craft and it paid off. Naturally, some songs shone more than others, but all had a chance to be timeless. I thought those days were all but gone, but I was wrong.

Oct. 13, 2011 - The Basement Rug Review

“It feels like The Dead only with tuned guitars and a better attitude.”

“...it is a hybrid Americana of the best kind wrapped up in a rock blanket”

"It should be easy, locking down sounds and genres, but these guys make it tough. I would love to be able to point to comparisons but I don't know any. All I can say is it is Jesse and Jacquie. And it isn't because they don't play in a variety of styles but because they do it so well that they OWN the songs. This is great stuff! I mean GREAT stuff! I haven't heard anything quite like it".

- Folk and Acoustic Music Exchange

"in fine roots-rock fettle, all bristling guitars and genially whirring Hammond"

"their most fully realized album yet" - Micky Clark, Americana UK

“It feels like The Dead only with tuned guitars and a better attitude.”

“...it is a hybrid Americana of the best kind wrapped up in a rock blanket”

"It should be easy, locking down sounds and genres, but these guys make it tough. I would love to be able to point to comparisons but I don't know any. All I can say is it is Jesse and Jacquie. And it isn't because they don't play in a variety of styles but because they do it so well that they OWN the songs. This is great stuff! I mean GREAT stuff! I haven't heard anything quite like it".

- Frank Gutch Jr., Folk and Acoustic Music Exchange

There is jazz, folk, spoken word poetry [...] great vocals, and marvelously played and written melodies. Simply put, this album will leave listeners wanting more.

This disc features an overall sound that is beyond interesting.

Key Tracks – I’m Still Hot, Pirate Ship, A Year In The Sky

September 27, 2011

©Muzikreviews.com - Ashley Arseneau, Muzikreviews.com

Good times in rural B.C.

The music from this Edmonton duo’s latest album, Our Ghosts Will Fill These Walls, works well with their CD cover, with its image of a diaphanous pair up against a rustic country house, the wooden slats showing through their ghostly selves. - BILL ROBERTSON, FOR THE STARPHOENIX

"Pretty much as tight as it gets. It sounds as though Jesse Dee has been writing and recording since conception. Most likely was JD was cutting riff's in his mothers womb. A beautiful blend of a genre that seems to have been created out of nowhere...". - Jon Thom - CD Baby

"Danny Michel-esque;..." - WHITEY and TB PLAYER - Vue Weekly, Edmonton

"When you start to listen to what following his passion has wrought, you'll find yourself immersed in a world of strong lyricisms and robust compositions. ...the songs are all so wonderfully layered and perfectly realized. You might even find yourself referring to Dee as Edmonton' s answer to Danny Michel... Comparisons are dangerous, though. You may hear the ways in which Dee has been inspired, but if his music is any indication he's too much of a perfectionist to be satisfied with being derivative. Music is what he wants to be doing; it shows."

- Carolyn Nikodym - Vue Weekly, Edmonton

"Danny Michel-esque;..." - WHITEY and TB PLAYER - Vue Weekly, Edmonton

"A Cross Pollination is an impressive and refreshing debut, showing off Dee's laid-back grooves and his wise-beyond-his-years songwriting and musical skills...Many of the songs shuffle and drag, baroque and bluesy. But the album also finds itself deeply rooted in folk and a general sense of Americana -- mainly stories of the road and the city -- as Dee sings about past loves, strange real-life characters and, of course, his own trials and tribulations."

- Francois Marchand - The Edmonton Journal

"Taking the street-smart elegance of Sinatra, and imbuing it with the scruffy edge of Tom Waits, Jesse Dee is a much welcomed breath of fresh air on the landscape of the Canadian music scene. Blessed with a voice that paints evocative portraits of the hollow souls that inhabit our world, juxtaposed with the exuberance of those who waltzed through dance halls in the time of the Wiemar Republic, Dee's musical flourishes scrub the interior of the heart with their incandescence, "A Cross Pollination of Service Station Scrawl" is the opening chapter of an extremely promising career!" - Tony King, CKUA Radio

"A Cross Pollination is an impressive and refreshing debut, showing off Dee's laid-back grooves and his wise-beyond-his-years songwriting and musical skills...Many of the songs shuffle and drag, baroque and bluesy. But the album also finds itself deeply rooted in folk and a general sense of Americana -- mainly stories of the road and the city -- as Dee sings about past loves, strange real-life characters and, of course, his own trials and tribulations."

- Francois Marchand - The Edmonton Journal

"As soon as he set foot on stage Jesse Dee did nothing but impress. His prowess on the guitar combined with the insight of his lyrics were shadowed only by the ease and charm of his on stage presence. His coy boy attitude reeking of sincerity left the room in want of his friendship. Jesse's meticulous attention to musical detail prompted me to go home and practice my scales."
-Joe Bird, O'Byrnes Pub, Edmonton - Joe Bird

"Jesse Dee displays the professionalism and talent of a performer twice his
age. He works hard, he writes great songs, and he fits on a ton of bills.
He's the real deal."
- Brent Oliver, Talent Buyer, Edmonton - Brent Oliver

“....warm, shuffling, attractively bruised sound(s), located somewhere in the soulful middle ground between Leadbelly and Tom Waits.” - Andrea Mcquade, See Magazine

"At just 26, Dee is already an accomplished, sophisticated musician. Without question, the new disc proves this over and over again...it’s replete with thoughtful, engaging tunes from the charming swagger of Had Me Goin’ to the breezy sensibilities of Sunblind...He’s also got a natural flair for songs that tell stories – a rare and wonderful delight in this age of overly manufactured music."
Mark Weber, Red Deer Express - Red Deer Express

"At just 26, Dee is already an accomplished, sophisticated musician. Without question, the new disc proves this over and over again...it’s replete with thoughtful, engaging tunes from the charming swagger of Had Me Goin’ to the breezy sensibilities of Sunblind...He’s also got a natural flair for songs that tell stories – a rare and wonderful delight in this age of overly manufactured music."
Mark Weber, Red Deer Express - Red Deer Express