"Shattered" by Jump Source
Helena Deland released one of my favorite folk albums of this decade, the resolute and sparse Goodnight Summerland which unfurls at the pace of time spent alone. It's an album for noticing the details, all the little moments of life that escape our attention amid the din of everyday distraction. So, it's fascinating to hear her voice on "Scattered," doing a kind of slick, Suzanne Vega on "Tom's Diner" thing for Jump Source. She's the source of tension that propels the song everywhere from grimy clubs to chic modern living rooms to the worlds that exist between a pair of headphones. "Scattered" is both intimate and universal thanks to Deland's hums and whispers; a fantastic star turn from an artist who previously seemed disinterested in the kind of electricity a spotlight requires.
I have a longstanding soft spot for a folk/dance music crossover, a lineage that of course includes "Tom's Diner" but peaks with Jane Lancaster's "It's a Fine Day" and its many many derivative works. It's a genre pairing that has yet to run out of steam, and "Shattered" ably demonstrates its continued effect. The beat skitters and burbles with anxiety, never quite settling into a single place, but Deland balances it with a steady whisper and that earworm "deh deh deh" refrain. The result is perhaps a little slight when measured against the majesty of something like "Halcyon + On + On", but that's true of almost anything - and maybe in a year Jump Source can remix this and double its length.