Jelly Road

Jelly Road is a 2023 album by American singer-songwriter Blake Mills. It has received positive reviews from critics and was promoted with a concert tour alongside collaborator Chris Weisman^[3] and the singles "Skeleton Is Walking"^[4] and "There Is No Now".^[5] The album marks a return to recording from Mills who had focused on production and collaboration on others' albums and features his first time being co-produced by an outside musician^[2] and features extensive co-writing by Weisman who had previously worked with Mills on Daisy Jones & the Six.^[6]

Reception

Editors at The Fader chose Jelly Road to be among the best music of the week.^[7] Writing for Mojo, James McNair rated this album 4 out of 5 stars, calling it "experimental yet accessible" and comparing the music to The Band and Fleetwood Mac.^[8] Critics for NPR's All Songs Considered included this among the notable releases of the week.^[9] At Pitchfork, Evan Minsker shortlisted this as one of the best albums of the week^[10] and critic Allison Hussey rated it an 8.0 out of 10, calling it "smooth and satisfying from start to finish" and "an invigorating listen" akin to hauntology.^[1] At Uncut, Sam Richards rated this release 4 out of 5 stars for showing that Mills is "a person who cares deeply – even obsessively – about his chosen artform, and its ability to delight, console and transform"^[11] and the publication's editors named it the 43rd best album of 2023.^[12]

Track listing

All songs written by Blake Mills and Chris Weisman, except where noted.

1. "Suchlike Horses" – 5:13
2. "Highway Bright" – 3:24
3. "Jelly Road" (Ben Aylon, Blake Mills, and Chris Weisman) – 2:55
4. "Skeleton Is Walking" – 5:58
5. "Unsingable" – 3:02
6. "Wendy Melvoin" – 2:58
7. "The Light Is Long" – 3:14
8. "Breakthrough Moon" – 4:28
9. "There Is No Now" – 2:20
10. "Press My Luck" – 4:34
11. "A Fez" (Cass McCombs, Mills, and Weisman) – 3:15
12. "Without an Ending" – 4:19

Personnel

"Suchlike Horses"

• Blake Mills – acoustic guitar, rubber-bridge acoustic guitar, fretless sustainer guitar, Paradis Avalon guitar, inverted tuning acoustic guitar, ARP 2600 synthesizer, Fender Rhodes electric piano, upright piano, vocals
• G. Weller – acoustic guitar
• Gabi Zachetto – vocals

"Highway Bright"

• Blake Mills – drums, percussion, hard right electric bass guitar, harmonium, grand piano, celesta, Paradis Avalon guitar, prepared electric guitar, vocals
• Sam Gendel – bass saxophone
• Wendy Melvoin – prepared electric guitar
• Chris Weisman – drums, percussion, hard left electric bass guitar, synthesizer guitar, celesta, prepared electric guitar

"Jelly Road"

• Blake Mills – acoustic guitar upright bass, inverted tuning acoustic guitar, rubber-bridge electric guitar, June 106 synthesizer, rubber-bridge tenor bass guitar, guitar synthesizer, vocals
• Wendy Melvoin – vocals
• Abe Rounds – drums
• Chris Weisman – Yamaha Venova soprano saxophone, Fender Rhodes electric piano, vocals

"Skeleton Is Walking"

• Blake Mills – acoustic guitar, inverted tuning acoustic guitar, upright bass, fretless sustainer guitar, Juno 106 synthesizer, DX100 synthesizer, percussion, vocals
• Abe Rounds – drums
• Kyle Thomas – electric tremolo guitar, percussion
• Chris Weisman – acoustic guitar, Yamaha Venova soprano saxophone, percussion

"Unsingable"

• Blake Mills – upright piano, fretless sustainer guitar, vocals
• Sam Gendel – electronic wind controller
• Abe Rounds – drums, percussion
• Chris Weisman – Yamaha Venova soprano saxophone

"Wendy Melvoin"

• Blake Mills – harmonica, acoustic guitar, upright bass, fretless sustainer guitar
• Sam Gendel – contrabass recorder
• Larry Goldings – upright piano Akai S612 sampler, DX100 synthesizer
• Abe Rounds – drums, percussion

"The Light Is Long"

• Blake Mills – acoustic guitar, upright bass, percussion, fretless sustainer guitar, vocals
• Teddy Geiger – percussion
• Sam Gendel – electronic wind controller
• Chris Weisman – inverted tuning acoustic guitar, Yamaha Venova soprano saxophone

"Breakthrough Moon"

• Blake Mills – electric guitar, slide guitar, electric bass guitar, acoustic guitar, Paradis Avalon guitar, percussion, vocals
• Meg Duffy – vocals
• Stuart Johnson – drums
• Roger Manning Jr. – Acetone organ, Hammond C3 organ
• Kane Ritchotte – percussion

"There Is No Now"

• Blake Mills – acoustic guitar, percussion, tuned percussion, electric bass guitar, fretless sustainer guitar, synthesizer, vocals
• Sam Gendel – contrabass recorder
• Abe Rounds – drums, percussion
• Chris Weisman – grand piano

"Press My Luck"

• Blake Mills – acoustic guitar, grand piano, rubber-bridge tenor bass guitar, Paradis Avalon guitar, vocals
• Abe Rounds – drums
• Wendy Melvoin – electric wah-wah guitar
• Chris Weisman – grand piano solo

"A Fez"

• Blake Mills – acoustic guitar, inverted tuning rubber-bridge slide electric guitar, upright bass, vocals

"Without an Ending"

• Blake Mills – electric guitar, electric bass guitar, percussion, grand piano, fretless sustainer guitar, vocals
• Sam Gendel – saxophone
• Jesca Hoop – vocals

Technical personnel

• Julian Chavez – album design, package design
• Daniel Krieger – mastering for vinyl at SST, Frankfurt, Germany
• Joseph Lorge – recording, mixing, photography
• Blake Mills – mixing, production, photography
• Mike Piscitelli – cover photography
• Patricia Sullivan – mastering at Bernie Grudman Mastering at Hollywood, California, United States
• Kyle Thomas – photography, album design
• Chris Weisman – production, photography

See also

• 2023 in American music
• List of 2023 albums
• Music of Daisy Jones & the Six

References

1. ^ Hussey, Allison (2023-07-14). "Blake Mills: Jelly Road Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
2. ^ Blistein, Jon (2023-07-06). "Blake Mills Has Played Tasteful Guitar for Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan. He's Ready to Shred". Rolling Stone. ISSN 0035-791X. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
3. ^ Geiger, Andy (2023-06-01). "Blake Mills preps 'Jelly Road' & tour with Chris Weisman (hear "Skeleton Is Walking")". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
4. ^ DeVille, Chris (2023-06-01). "Blake Mills Announces New Album 'Jelly Road': Hear "Skeleton Is Walking"". Stereogum. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
5. ^ Millman, Ethan (2023-06-23). "Blake Mills Drops New Single "There Is No Now"". Rolling Stone. ISSN 0035-791X. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
6. ^ Schube, Will (2023-07-14). "Blake Mills Is One Of Rock Music's Weirdest — And Most Important — Architects". Uproxx. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
7. ^ "New Music Friday: Stream new projects from J Hus, Alaska Reid, Blake Mills, and more". The Fader. 2023-07-14. ISSN 1533-5194. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
8. ^ McNair, James (2023-07-14). "Blake Mills Jelly Road Review". Mojo. ISSN 1351-0193. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
9. ^ Touros, Cyrena; Sweeney, Nicole; Moody, Tarik; Hilton, Robin (2023-07-14). "New Music Friday: The best releases out on July 14". All Songs Considered. NPR. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
10. ^ Minsker, Evan (2023-07-14). "8 New Albums You Should Listen to Now: Blake Mills, Palehound, and More". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
11. ^ Richards, Sam (2023-08-04). "Blake Mills – Jelly Road". Uncut. ISSN 1368-0722. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
12. ^ "75 best new albums". Uncut. 2023-11-07. ISSN 1368-0722. Retrieved 2024-01-05.

External links

• Press release from UMe