Jay Jacobson "A New Contemporary" Album Review

By Justin Jay Beats

Jay Jacobson "A New Contemporary" Music Review   

            Many of you know me as a hip hop producer and hard core hip hop head but I also dabble in many genres as well. Today I had the chance to review Jay Jacobson, a talented singer-songwriter with a soothing voice with promising ability. My first impression was that he sounded like a Christian pop ballad singer. As I progressed through the album, I realized it was the style and structure of his songs that gave his music that contemporary Gospel sound. I kept imagining and questioning what he would sound like with different instrumentals and with more emotion in his delivery.

Track five “In the Blue” answered that question with the emotion that I was waiting for. That track reassured me that he is able to loosen up and truly show more character in his song. I’m not saying that the songs prior were lacking in character, I just felt that he was holding back his full potential in expressing his vocal skills.

“Taking the long way home” was another ballad that showed Jay’s vocal talent and control. It still felt like he was holding back his full emotion on the track which could have done the song much more justice.

The next track, however, reminded me of a nice Queen ballad as he nailed the tone and mood of the song. The adlibs and background vocals were executed elegantly and his use of vibrato played out nicely for this particular piece. This was my favorite song in the whole album.

The last two songs were also graceful and charming. I noticed that the album started off slow but gained momentum towards the end. You actually have a chance to hear Jay’s full vocal potential and dynamic range in the last song “Might as well sing and dance together.”

After listening to the whole album, I realized that his music is geared towards a more mature crowd and for those who enjoy easy-listening ballads with beautifully composed instrumentals. I loved the versatility and creativity throughout the whole project and did not come off as monotonous or redundant. The lyrical content was very intelligent and structured well. Judging from the last three songs of the album, I can tell his next project will be very promising. As I mentioned before, the album started off a bit slow but ended beautifully and actually impressed me. I look forward to hearing what Jay Jacobson has in store for us in the future and I do hope that he continues to craft his voice to its full capability.