Emerging singer-songwriter, Jess Nolan, premieres double-sided tracks to close out a chaotic year. Following her debut album, From Blue to Gold, the artist reflects on 2020 with messages of hope and honesty about what we have gained during this time of so much loss.
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“I’m working on holding onto the gravity of current reality while balancing light and hope,” says Nolan, a New Jersey native. “This two-track release is me honing in on my ability to carry both things.”
Getting an upright piano at the beginning of the pandemic put her on the fast track for writing new songs, but Nolan kept returning to two she held onto for several years. Tweaking a few lyric lines brought both “A Little Light” and “Change” up-to-speed, readying them to represent a pivotal moment.
“I knew I was about to usher in a whole new catalog of songs, and I need to get this one out the door,” she explains about August’s From Blue to Gold. “It was not because I didn’t care about those songs anymore. I am very proud of that whole album. But, we are living in a different time right now, and I want my music to constantly reflect what’s happening in the world.”
Her A-Side single, “A Little Light,” laid its foundation in 2017. The raw reflection was Nolan’s response to children separated at the Mexican border. Perspective was a guiding principle, seeing what those families experienced and recognizing what her problems looked like in comparison.
“I thought, ‘Well, if those people are continuing on, then so can I,'” she explains.
As the years pressed on, the topical urgency evolved. This summer, at her piano, Nolan returned once again to this incomplete track. At the moment, her heart was brimming with devastation following Breonna Taylor’s death.
“That headline just cut into me,” she says. “The lyric in the first revised verse, ‘A mother with an aching cry,’ came after watching Tamika Palmer speak out and become an activist in the wake of her daughter’s death. If someone can go through pain on such a macro-level, then get in front of people about reforming policy, that gives me hope. That’s endurance and resilience we can all learn from.”
Flipping over to B, “Change” exudes a glimmer of light, paving the road ahead with restored hope in humanity. Penned during her senior year of college at the University of Miami, “Change” first made a piano/vocal appearance on her debut EP in 2016.
“It’s accepting that change is the only constant,” Nolan explains.
This year brought new meaning to that notion.
“Tours canceled, album releases delayed, being isolated from friends and family, job losses, COVID scares and tests; we’re all adapting to a completely new reality,” she continues. “I truly believe that when we allow ourselves to go through the growing pains of changing with our environment, we become better people.”
These two tracks meet this moment with thoughtful poise. They mark the first songs Nolan has produced herself, a goal she hopes to continue.
Ian Miller, who produced From Blue to Gold, helped mix and engineer an eclectic soundscape that individualizes Nolan’s experience this year. Juan Solorzano nylon string acoustic guitar work resounds desired atmospheric undertones. Calvin Knowles added upright bass, and Ross McReynolds experimented with some cool percussion and drum sounds.
Sprinkled throughout the tracks are background noises from a crowded room, clinking glasses, and even Nolan’s audible meditative breathing.
“I wanted these two to feel like a long sigh—very calming and relaxing. Personally, that’s how I wanted to end this year for myself and for those who will listen,” explains the artist.
“Yes, the pandemic has been hard, but I’ve had more time alone to meditate and reflect. To get quiet and write again. To see my role in the fight for racial justice in this country. I’m a more mindful person these days, and I’m grateful for that change that might not have come without a global pandemic flipping us all upside down.”
Listen to Jess Nolan’s premiere of “A Little Light” & “Change” below.
