Santa Cruz, California band Wolf Jett is on a tear. Last summer found the band being introduced to music fans throughout the festival circuit and the reception was fantastic. In only their third year (the band started just as Covid hit), they secured a closing slot at the local Redwood Mountain Faire with special guest Marty O’Reilly, performed at San Luis Obispo’s Live Oak Festival, and supported top Bay Area bands The California Honeydrops, Brothers Comatose, The Mother Hips, and T Sisters.
After a busy summer with very few breaks they have set out to capture their enthusiastic live sound in recorded form. Their new single “Broken” (below) is a beautiful balance of dark and light. The song celebrates life’s rebuilding following one of those knockdowns we can all understand. Laura T. Lewis’ delivery of the vocals delivers a soft weight to the moral of the song, that our imperfections, the necessary results from the wear and tear of life, are something we can celebrate.
The lyrics evoke the Japanese concept of Kintsugi, a Japanese art form of repairing broken pottery with gold that celebrates the beauty of imperfection. Jason Crosby’s keyboard work just might be that gold as it is the perfect accent as Lewis bears her scars. Crosby’s B-3 flourishes and Rhodes work burnish and soften the edges of the lyrical import and delivery. “Broken” brings to us a soulful sound softer than what has been heard from this band before and it is the first single to be released from the band’s forthcoming LP due out in the spring of 2023.
“Broken” is an exceptional snapshot of where the band finds itself now. There is refinement, poise, and dimensionality stretching beyond the bluesy backbone upon which the band has depended in the past. With “Broken” we hear the band finding a stride that was never more evident than at their most recent sold-out show at the Guild Theatre supporting the Mother Hips. As frontman, Chris Jones related, “There’s a crowd of people listening intently, and I look over and see Laura singing her truth to every single person in the place. It made me realize how much we need this message out there right now. My heart was in my chest and I was so proud!”
You can listen to “Broken” on all streaming platforms today.
