I'm not going to pretend that I'm an experienced JMSN fan, because I'm not. I was introduced to the singer/songwriter through a feature of his on rapper Deniro Farrar's solemn "Separate" single back in June of this year, and was impressed enough to keep my eyes and ears peeled for other work of the Detroit native and current Los Angeles inhabitant. I'd eventually come across other collaborations with him involved, including some efforts with Sango and Blue Sky Black Death, among others. And though the artistic role of his alternated between the various appearances, his exalted aura never did, and it was only a matter of time until I got hold of one of his inevitably poignant projects, and became a bonafide fan. †Pllajë†, his ten-track EP released today through his own White Room Records label, happened to be that introductory project for me, and I can't say that I'm anything but pleased because of that. The impassioned efforts within the work remind me of everything I've ever known about JMSN, and more, cueing comparison to an individual returned spectacularly in one's life after an absence of several years. And every damn bit of JMSN's figurative return in my life has, in fact, been spectacular. There's no hesitation with me saying that, either, having had †Pllajë† on repeat for at least the length of time I've been writing this piece (it's been a while). There's some mixture of artistic elements in the project that I seem to be stuck within, though I've absolutely no desire to stray. It's a type of glorious debilitation, a gratifying stagnancy, and though it nears upon undefinability, it's the kind of experience necesitating explanation, if only to enlarge the scope of the artistry itself. I'll point out the undeniable passion, essentially spiritual tone, and purposefully ethereal sound on †Pllajë†, then, while understanding fully the injustice words offer to the extraordinary aural affair. It's kind of just my way to rationalize the supernal experience JMSN has bestowed upon me and all others fortunate enough to land on his breathtaking efforts. The sum of them, titled †Pllajë†, is as alluring as anything I've ever called alluring, and I say that in the most wholehearted way possible.
JMSN