JESSIE BAYLIN > Firesight

A weathered pro at 24 years old, Jessie Baylin seems eager to place herself in the line of songwriters stretching from Stevie Nicks to Norah Jones on her sophomore release. If the subtle jazz inflections and wistful melodies sound somewhat familiar, you could be hearing the influence of Jesse Harris, the one-time Jones co-writer who collaborated with Baylin for much of the album.Label: VERVE FORECAST
[RATING: 3]

A weathered pro at 24 years old, Jessie Baylin seems eager to place herself in the line of songwriters stretching from Stevie Nicks to Norah Jones on her sophomore release. If the subtle jazz inflections and wistful melodies sound somewhat familiar, you could be hearing the influence of Jesse Harris, the one-time Jones co-writer who collaborated with Baylin for much of the album. Named in honor of the Fire Side Inn, the restaurant/bar in New Jersey where she honed her craft before heading to Los Angeles and becoming one of the leading lights of the city’s Hotel Café scene, the album shuffles comfortably from soulful piano balladry to pedal steel kissed shuffles and mid-tempo guitar pop. Still, despite the subtle timelessness of her arrangements, it’s all just a bit too unhurried to really pack all that much of a punch, as Baylin sings and writes with a sober maturity that makes one wish that she’d allow a little youthful indiscretion to show through.