New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Chicago sound-weaver
Jessica Risker has shared a video for "Zero Summer Mind" today, prior to hitting the road on a two-week run of dates up the center of the United States with label mate Caroline Says - watch + share. "Zero Summer Mind" is featured on Jessica's first album under her own name, I See You Among The Stars, which arrived this spring on Western Vinyl, garnering praise from NPR Music, the
Chicago Tribune and Reader. The tour kicks off tomorrow night in Austin, TX and runs through two performances in Chicago, IL (all dates below).
Comprised of eight aural vignettes, I See You Among The Stars is a wood-grained, amber-hued world respectfully orbiting influences like Nick Drake, Sibylle Baier, and the softest moments of Broadcast. Paisley fabrics fade beneath an uncovered window, while dust and smoke billow gently through the sunbeams that never fully reach the dark half of the room. The collection of psychedelic folk tunes achieves what the best music in the genre does: pictures with tangible depth, color, and detail painted with only a few well-chosen pigments. There is a perfect thread of quiet despair that renders the playfulness of its surroundings subversive and slightly wicked, making the whole affair psychedelic in the actual sense of the word. Sure, the colors may be brighter, but the shadows are also longer and darker.
I See You Among the Stars is an exemplar of spaced out psych-folk that seeks to convey the intimacy and introspection of a woman going about her simple matters at home, while creating an atmosphere to provide melancholy accompaniment to these very tasks. But the final result is something much more: a polyhedral, exploratory, and mystifying peer into a detailed pop-up storybook that reflects the mind and heart of its luminous creator.
Tour Dates:
08/01 - Austin, TX @ Cheer Up Charlie's ^
08/02 - Houston, TX @ Continental Club ^
08/03 - New Orleans, LA @ Circle Bar ^
08/05 - Knoxville, TN @ Scruffy City ^
08/07 - Nashville, TN @ Betty's Grill ^
08/08 - Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop ^
08/09 - Iowa City, IA @ Blue Moose Tap House ^
08/10 - Rock Island, IL @ Rozz Tox ^
08/11 - Chicago, IL @ Reckless Records [Free] ^
08/12 - Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle ^
^ w/ Caroline Says
