Jessica Lá Rel Tended the Garden of Solitary Grace with the Cinematic Soul Serenity of ‘On My Own’

With On My Own, the Chicago-hailing cinematic soul singer Jessica Lá Rel watered the roots of self-reverence with sonic poetry that blooms beyond the reach of romantic conventions. While most singers write paeans to codependence, Jessica Lá Rel reached for higher ground by illuminating how connection and self-containment are not opposing forces. They can exist in tandem, like stars holding their own light within a galaxy of others. Taken from her garden-themed sophomore LP Three Sisters, the single attests to the strength found in solitude, and the quiet power that comes from orbiting your own centre with compassion as the gravitational pull. Lyrically, it reframes strength not as defiance, but as devotion to one’s own peace. Sonically, On My Own keeps one foot rooted in the familiar terrain of soul while the other steps lightly into experimental ground. Luminous angular notes break up the smoothness of the production like glass catching sunlight, before giving way to the pinnacle moment where Jessica Lá Rel layers looped harmonies into a vocal crescendo that doesn’t ask to be felt, it commands it. Following a career already punctuated with performances for Oprah, Jesse Jackson, and Civil Rights Freedom Riders, Jessica Lá Rel continues to […]

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