Wes Collins’ tasteful songwriting chops impress with his brooding openheartedness and cathartic melodies that reflect the more poignant sides of Jason Isbell and Steve Earle. On his third record Jabberwockies, Collins invites us into the world of a highly underrated singer-songwriter who can certainly fill a slot at Newport Folk Fest – if the invitation arrived.
Jabberwockies is Wes Collins’s third record, and he says it was a joy to make considering one friend’s comment that “it sure is sad.” These songs about lovers who aren’t, lives in the rearview, and Medusa in a pillbox hat will make you smile if you lean in and listen, though.
This new album represents ten songs from a batch of over thirty written since late 2017. Wes wrote most of the songs on Jabberwockies “in character,” so you might catch the occasional hint of Wes’s North Carolina accent in these songs, he hasn’t seen Medusa at the local bar or worked for the Forestry Service.
Glide is premiering the grim yet decorated “Cocoon,” a minimalist single that sounds robust due to Collin’s earnestly emotive vocals and rhythmic guitar choices. Leave it to Collins to proudly allow the inspiration for the song to fly from another unheralded artist- Texas rocker and folker Jaimee Harris.
“Written under the influence of Jaimee Harris’s “Fake”, a song that starts off dark and stays there. This character is listening to the reasonable voice of a devil who doesn’t want them to be able to get out of a chair,” adds Collins. See where the dark meets the poignant on Collins’ latest winner…
