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Jelly Road

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Jelly Road
A photo of a tiny pewter figure playing guitar with thick borders around it and the album name written upside down
Studio album by
Blake Mills
ReleasedJuly 14, 2023 (2023-07-14)
StudioSound City Studios, Los Angeles, California, US
GenreExperimental rock[1]
Length45:40
LanguageEnglish
LabelNew Deal Records/Verve Forecast
Producer
  • Blake Mills
  • Chris Weisman[2]
Blake Mills chronology
Notes with Attachment
(2021) 		Jelly Road
(2023)

I don't necessarily make records with a lot of a mission statement. Other than having songs written, you're kind of going out on the lake with a fishing pole. You know there's fish there. You don't know how long it's going to take for you to catch one. You might have a day where for some reason you don't catch anything. That's what it's like to go into the studio when I'm making most things. Certainly solo records.

—Blake Mills on his approach to writing and recording albums[3]

Jelly Road is a 2023 album by American singer-songwriter Blake Mills. It has received positive reviews from critics and was promoted with a concert tour alongside collaborator Chris Weisman[4] and the singles "Skeleton Is Walking"[5] and "There Is No Now".[6] The album marks a return to recording from Mills who had focused on production and collaboration on others' albums and features his first time being co-produced by an outside musician[2] and features extensive co-writing by Weisman who had previously worked with Mills on Daisy Jones & the Six.[7]

Reception

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Editors at The Fader chose Jelly Road to be among the best music of the week.[8] Writing for Mojo, James McNair rated this album 4 out of 5 stars, calling it "experimental yet accessible" and comparing the music to The Band and Fleetwood Mac.[9] Critics for NPR's All Songs Considered included this among the notable releases of the week.[10] At Pitchfork, Evan Minsker shortlisted this as one of the best albums of the week[11] and critic Allison Hussey rated it an 8.0 out of 10, calling it "smooth and satisfying from start to finish" and "an invigorating listen" akin to hauntology.[1] At Uncut, Sam Richards rated this release 4 out of 5 stars for showing that Mills is "a person who cares deeply – even obsessively – about his chosen artform, and its ability to delight, console and transform"[12] and the publication's editors named it the 43rd best album of 2023.[13]

Track listing

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All songs written by Blake Mills and Chris Weisman, except where noted.

  1. "Suchlike Horses" – 5:13
  2. "Highway Bright" – 3:24
  3. "Jelly Road" (Ben Aylon, Blake Mills, and Chris Weisman) – 2:55
  4. "Skeleton Is Walking" – 5:58
  5. "Unsingable" – 3:02
  6. "Wendy Melvoin" – 2:58
  7. "The Light Is Long" – 3:14
  8. "Breakthrough Moon" – 4:28
  9. "There Is No Now" – 2:20
  10. "Press My Luck" – 4:34
  11. "A Fez" (Cass McCombs, Mills, and Weisman) – 3:15
  12. "Without an Ending" – 4:19

Personnel

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"Suchlike Horses"

"Highway Bright"

"Jelly Road"

  • Blake Mills – acoustic guitar upright bass, inverted tuning acoustic guitar, rubber-bridge electric guitar, June 106 synthesizer, rubber-bridge tenor bass guitar, guitar synthesizer, vocals
  • Wendy Melvoin – vocals
  • Abe Rounds – drums
  • Chris Weisman – Yamaha Venova soprano saxophone, Fender Rhodes electric piano, vocals

"Skeleton Is Walking"

  • Blake Mills – acoustic guitar, inverted tuning acoustic guitar, upright bass, fretless sustainer guitar, Juno 106 synthesizer, DX100 synthesizer, percussion, vocals
  • Abe Rounds – drums
  • Kyle Thomas – electric tremolo guitar, percussion
  • Chris Weisman – acoustic guitar, Yamaha Venova soprano saxophone, percussion

"Unsingable"

  • Blake Mills – upright piano, fretless sustainer guitar, vocals
  • Sam Gendel – electronic wind controller
  • Abe Rounds – drums, percussion
  • Chris Weisman – Yamaha Venova soprano saxophone

"Wendy Melvoin"

  • Blake Mills – harmonica, acoustic guitar, upright bass, fretless sustainer guitar
  • Sam Gendel – contrabass recorder
  • Larry Goldings – upright piano Akai S612 sampler, DX100 synthesizer
  • Abe Rounds – drums, percussion

"The Light Is Long"

  • Blake Mills – acoustic guitar, upright bass, percussion, fretless sustainer guitar, vocals
  • Teddy Geiger – percussion
  • Sam Gendel – electronic wind controller
  • Chris Weisman – inverted tuning acoustic guitar, Yamaha Venova soprano saxophone

"Breakthrough Moon"

  • Blake Mills – electric guitar, slide guitar, electric bass guitar, acoustic guitar, Paradis Avalon guitar, percussion, vocals
  • Meg Duffy – vocals
  • Stuart Johnson – drums
  • Roger Manning Jr. – Acetone organ, Hammond C3 organ
  • Kane Ritchotte – percussion

"There Is No Now"

  • Blake Mills – acoustic guitar, percussion, tuned percussion, electric bass guitar, fretless sustainer guitar, synthesizer, vocals
  • Sam Gendel – contrabass recorder
  • Abe Rounds – drums, percussion
  • Chris Weisman – grand piano

"Press My Luck"

  • Blake Mills – acoustic guitar, grand piano, rubber-bridge tenor bass guitar, Paradis Avalon guitar, vocals
  • Abe Rounds – drums
  • Wendy Melvoin – electric wah-wah guitar
  • Chris Weisman – grand piano solo

"A Fez"

  • Blake Mills – acoustic guitar, inverted tuning rubber-bridge slide electric guitar, upright bass, vocals

"Without an Ending"

  • Blake Mills – electric guitar, electric bass guitar, percussion, grand piano, fretless sustainer guitar, vocals
  • Sam Gendel – saxophone
  • Jesca Hoop – vocals

Technical personnel

  • Julian Chavez – album design, package design
  • Daniel Krieger – mastering for vinyl at SST, Frankfurt, Germany
  • Joseph Lorge – recording, mixing, photography
  • Blake Mills – mixing, production, photography
  • Mike Piscitelli – cover photography
  • Patricia Sullivan – mastering at Bernie Grudman Mastering at Hollywood, California, United States
  • Kyle Thomas – photography, album design
  • Chris Weisman – production, photography

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Hussey, Allison (July 14, 2023). "Blake Mills: Jelly Road Album Review". Albums. Pitchfork. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Blistein, Jon (July 6, 2023). "Blake Mills Has Played Tasteful Guitar for Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan. He's Ready to Shred". Music > Music Features. Rolling Stone. ISSN 0035-791X. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  3. ^ Enos, Morgan (July 18, 2023). "On 'Jelly Road,' Blake Mills Sings From A Place "Just Beyond My Reach Of Total Comprehension"". Interview. The Recording Academy. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  4. ^ Geiger, Andy (June 1, 2023). "Blake Mills preps 'Jelly Road' & tour with Chris Weisman (hear "Skeleton Is Walking")". Music. BrooklynVegan. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  5. ^ DeVille, Chris (June 1, 2023). "Blake Mills Announces New Album 'Jelly Road': Hear "Skeleton Is Walking"". New Music. Stereogum. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  6. ^ Millman, Ethan (June 23, 2023). "Blake Mills Drops New Single "There Is No Now"". Music > Music News. Rolling Stone. ISSN 0035-791X. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  7. ^ Schube, Will (July 14, 2023). "Blake Mills Is One Of Rock Music's Weirdest — And Most Important — Architects". Indie Mixtape. Uproxx. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  8. ^ "New Music Friday: Stream new projects from J Hus, Alaska Reid, Blake Mills, and more". Music / Hip-Hop. The Fader. July 14, 2023. ISSN 1533-5194. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  9. ^ McNair, James (July 14, 2023). "Blake Mills Jelly Road Review". Articles | New Music. Mojo. ISSN 1351-0193. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  10. ^ Touros, Cyrena; Sweeney, Nicole; Moody, Tarik; Hilton, Robin (July 14, 2023). "New Music Friday: The best releases out on July 14". NPR Music. All Songs Considered. NPR. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  11. ^ Minsker, Evan (July 14, 2023). "8 New Albums You Should Listen to Now: Blake Mills, Palehound, and More". News. Pitchfork. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  12. ^ Richards, Sam (August 4, 2023). "Blake Mills – Jelly Road". Uncut. ISSN 1368-0722. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  13. ^ "75 best new albums". Music. Uncut. November 7, 2023. ISSN 1368-0722. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
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