Jessica Lea Mayfield Makes Gut Punch of Hyper-Focused Pop Rock On ‘Sorry Is Gone’ (ALBUM REVIEW)

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I deserve to occupy this space/Without feeling like I don’t belong,” sings Jessica Lea Mayfield on the title track off her new record Sorry Is Gone. It’s a gut punch of hyper-focused pop rock about leaving behind a destructive relationship and reclaiming your identity in the aftermath. And it’s a nod not only to feminism, but to being a living breathing human being that has the right to be here and take up space. There’s a liberating feeling that pulses through the songs on Sorry is Gone, and it’s some of Mayfield’s most powerful work. It finds Mayfield moving through the world with a new guard up, but still somehow the freest and most independent she’s ever been.

Mayfield’s songwriting has always run deep, but Sorry is Gone offers us the most intimate look inside her brain, fears and all. “Maybe Whatever” wraps a truly disturbing, even violent, glimpse into an unsafe relationship in a smooth, soft melody. Mayfield seems to be looking for a light at the end of the tunnel when she sings, “the shotgun’s under the futon/This is not my idea of fun/I wish happiness on everyone I know.” Mayfield grapples with her own changing emotions toward someone she tried to see the best in as they fall apart. In typical Mayfield passion, her angelic, sweet voice has an unexpected cutting intensity with its undertones of haunting despair.

“Safe 2 Connect 2” is a particularly stirring trip, as Mayfield tries her hardest to stay human and not to succumb to numbness. “Meadow” is a picture of vulnerability, with Mayfield constantly questioning who she can trust. It’s also one of the most stunning melodies on Sorry is Gone.

“Bum Me Out” and “Wish You Could See Me Now” show Mayfield’s knack for fuzzy rock and roll. There’s an effortless coolness that has always come through in her music, but on these tracks, there’s an added confidence to back it up. Mayfield may have been through some shit since her last record (2014’s excellent Make My Head Sing), but she’s not letting her experiences stop her in her tracks. She’s using them to get better and better.

Editors note – Jessica Lea Mayfield has canceled a string of October tour dates to recuperate from injuries sustained in a car accident. Mayfield was rear-ended, she says, by someone who fell asleep at the wheel.

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