Quarterlifeparty

I was introduced to this great band by a friend over the weekend. Unfortunately the band split in 1998, but you can still get their albums online. They have a beautiful droning rock sound to them that creates a lot of noise. For their first self-title debut, released in 1994, Dawn Smithson and Rex Ritter both sang vocals for Jessamine. By their third and final album Don’t stay too long Dawn Smithson had taken over completely as a lead vocalist and Jessamine had evolved their sound to a fuse in a little more jazz. Although these albums came out a decade ago, they fall right in line with what a lot of bands are doing today.

Jessamine:
Andy Brown (keyboards)
Michael Faeth (drums)
Rex Ritter (electric guitar)
Dawn Smithson (vocals and bass)

Jessamine – “Cellophane” (from self-titled debut)
Jessamine – “Corrupted Behavior”

Purchase Jessamine’s albums on ITunes

Rex Ritter and Andy Brown now record together as the band Fontanelle ( who are putting out some equally as dreamy and droney music. A little more experimental than Jessamine but still incorporating a lot of the same sounds, Fontanelle head more in the direction of a mixture of dream pop and jazz rather than rock. They list their influences as Can, Miles Davis Electric Era and Krautrock. Dawn Smithson left Jessamine in 1998 to pursue a career in fashion but has since returned to music as a solo artist.

Fontanelle – “Reflex Vs. Parallax”

Purchase Fontanelle’s album on ITunes

Tags: , fontanelle , jessamine