Debut Album ‘Dancing From a Distance’
Jenny Dee, a singer-songwriter, released her debut full-length album Dancing From a Distance in early March. Her style of music is intimate and filled with reflective stories about her life. Dee’s vocals are smooth, delicate, and invites you into her world, while her guitar playing is gentle and provides the vulnerable context of her story telling. I was filled with excitement before even listening to her music to see that she was a female singer-songwriter and acoustic guitar player. Not many female artists get in this lane nor stay in it for long, so the fact that someone with such a wise perspective and smooth voice is taking it on made me feel better about the world.
Dancing from a Distance is a vulnerable debut album for any artist. The album is filled with images of nature, nostalgia, longing, and the feeling that important people might feel so far away. This mirrors her own life, as a San Diego native, who has recently moved to Florida. This is documented in several songs like in the first track ‘Something More’ it specifically speaks to the geographic features of both San Diego and Florida. It also highlights this feeling of never truly being satisfied in either location. One side of it feels like opportunities are missed and on the other side that familiar things are missed.
Other tracks, such as, ‘House That We Built’, ‘Leave on a Light’, and ‘All These Words’ all speak to a changing relationship that seems confused. Wanting to save it, wanting to feel hope, but also knowing that life is changing and that an ending may be inevitable. My favorite song on the album is ‘In The Morning’, due to the lovely violin, piano, and acoustic guitar combination that drives the vulnerable and nostalgic feeling of the song. Lyrically it speaks to tensions that are common when people are at the crossroads of their life. Another impressive track is the final track on the album ‘If I Could Carry Us’, featuring Aaron Marsh (from Copeland) who was also the producer of the album. The harmony, the lyrics, and the simplicity of the songs makes it so powerful. Bringing home the theme that distance can be such a confusing and lonely feeling.
Jenny Dee is a poetic song writer and this album is riddled with tensions that we can all relate to when we deal with the consequences of a huge life decision. Relationships change, landscapes change, and sometimes that makes us feel alone and lost. Her voice is understated, smooth, and conveys the vulnerability that her songs demand. The album features mostly guitar and piano, but has moments of some electronic editing as well to emphasize certain phrases in many of the tracks. All in all, this is a wonderful start for Jenny Dee and cannot wait to see what else she puts out in the future.
Her album is now available to download and stream. If you would like to follow and keep in touch with Jenny Dee visit her Instagram: Instagram.com/JennykDee.
