Magic – Joan As Police Woman (Buy)
Joan Wasser has built a career around the reinvention of her work and sound. She completed a musical metamorphosis that took her from being a violinist in the Boston band the Dambuilders to being a singer/songwriter in her own successful project, Joan As Police Woman (@joanpolicewoman). In between these two endeavors, she collaborated vocally and instrumentally with other bands like Antony and the Johnsons and Black Beetle. With two albums under her belt as her solo musician, JAPW now brings us the release of The Deep Field, her third studio effort as singer and songwriter.
The Deep Field is both an emotional and musical shift for Joan As Police Woman. There’s an understated positivity within each of the album’s tracks in comparison to her previous albums. The Deep Field is less melancholy and more sultry. Joan was able to create a sexy neo-soul musical style with a hint of rock mixed in. She admittedly channeled inspiration from the R&B greats Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and Al Green, which is certainly something to aspire to.
There are also sounds of influence from soul songstresses Jill Scott and Erykah Badu. The album has an overall chill vibe with a great amount of emotional yearning that anyone can relate to. With songs like “Chemmie” and “Nervous”, her lyrics leave no room for misinterpretation. Her emotional and musical delivery is direct, clear, and gave me chills as a result.
While physical copies of The Deep Field are only available in America on April 12, digital downloads of the album are now available to purchase. Joan As Police Woman is currently on tour in Europe during the month of March. She then heads over to America in April with a stop at NYC’s Mercury Lounge on April 14.
4/14: New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
4/15: Philadelphia, PA @ The Tin Angel
4/19: Boston, MA @ The Middle East (Upstairs)
4/20: Buffalo, NY @ The Ninth Ward
4/21: Toronto, ON @ The Drake Hotel
4/22: Pontiac, MI @ The Pike Room at The Crofoot
4/24: Chicago, IL @ Schuba’s Tavern
4/26: Minneapolis, MN @ Cedar Cultural Center
4:27: Kansas City, MO @ Record Bar
4/29: Dallas, TX @ Club Dada
4/30: Austin, TX @ The Parish
5/2: Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
5/4: Vienna, VA @ Jammin’ Java
5/20: Seattle, WA @ Columbia City Theater
5/21: Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
5/25: San Francisco, CA @ Café du Nord
5/27: Los Angeles, CA @ The Bootleg Theater
