Hailed by Pitchfork as one of the “most exciting and skillful storytellers” working today, Jaime Wyatt is the kind of generational talent whose raw, honest lyricism is matched only by the power of her huge, unmistakable voice. Today, with the announcement of her third and most ambitious album yet – Feel Good, out November 3rd on New West Records – along with the release of lead single “World Worth Keeping,” Wyatt takes a firm step into the future, pushing her sound to new sonic and emotional heights, while blurring the lines between classic roots, southern soul, and vintage R&B.
“World Worth Keeping” is a fierce, soulful meditation on the kind of beauty that’s worth fighting for, no matter how hopeless things may seem. “Take a look around you / There’s a world worth keeping,” she proclaims over a shimmering organ and tremolo guitar. Accompanied by a mind-bending journey of a music video, directed by Dylan Reyes, “World Worth Keeping” is rooted in its defiant optimism and succinctly lays the groundwork for the LP’s refusal to surrender to cynicism and negativity despite its ever-looming presence.
Recorded with Black Pumas’ Adrian Quesada, Feel Good is bold and ecstatic, built on tight, intoxicating grooves that belie the songs’ substantial emotional stakes, showcasing Wyatt’s unparalleled artistry and musical prowess. Wyatt’s writing is unguarded and intuitive here, tapping into the deep recesses of her subconscious as she reckons with grief and growth, and her delivery is visceral to match, cutting straight to the bone with equal parts sensitivity and swagger. Taken as a whole, the collection stands as a radical act of creative liberation from an artist already known for pushing limits, a genre-defying work of healing, queer joy and self-love that tips its cap to everything from Al Green and Otis Redding to Waylon Jennings and Bobbie Gentry in its relentless pursuit of peace and pleasure.
“A lot of us grow up feeling like we have to hide who we are just to be accepted, but that comes from a place of fear and judgment,” Wyatt explains. “I wrote these songs as a way of letting go of all that, as permission to feel good.”
Eschewing the traditionally solitary process that begot her early work, Wyatt penned Feel Good in a series of collaborative, freewheeling writing sessions built around infectious drum and bass grooves. Working with different rhythm sections in LA (her former hometown) and Nashville (her current hometown), Wyatt began experimenting with stream-of-consciousness and improvisation in the rehearsal studio, allowing herself to trust her instincts (as well as those of close collaborator Joshy Soul) as she pulled lyrics and melodies from the ether. Wyatt carried that same energy into Electric Deluxe Recorders in Austin, where she and the band cut much of the basic tracks and vocals live to tape before fleshing them out with lush horns, strings, and harmonies.
Elsewhere on Feel Good the radiant “Back To The Country” finds Heaven in the simplest places, while the buoyant “Love Is A Place” revels in the freedom of being seen for who you truly are, and the effervescent title track embraces pleasure as a primal necessity. “All I want to do / Just to feel good, is just to feel right,” Wyatt sings, backed by towering gospel vocals.
“I spent a lot of my life feeling like it was selfish to want to feel good, that women were supposed to be meek and quiet and submissive,” she reflects. “I wasn’t born like that, though, and these songs were a big part of learning not just to accept myself, but to love myself, because if you can’t love yourself, then nobody can.”
A West Coast native, Wyatt first began turning heads with her breakout 2017 debut, Felony Blues, which chronicled her now much-publicized battle with addiction and transformative journey through the criminal justice system. Her 2020 follow-up and New West debut, Neon Cross, tackled even more profoundly personal revelations and arrived to tremendous acclaim everywhere from Pitchfork to NME, with NPR praising Wyatt’s “remarkable voice” and Rolling Stone lauding her “lush, layered, and complex” performances.
Jaime Wyatt will bring the music of Feel Good across North America supporting ZZ Ward and playing numerous festivals this fall. Find the full list of dates below, plus more information and tickets at https://www.jaimewyatt.com/.
A modern Americana artist with plenty of vintage outlaw flair and unparalleled Western stage wear, Wyatt sings of a lifetime of experiences with unusual, captivating candor. This year alone, she’s already made her Newport Folk, Stagecoach and Red Rocks debuts, performed at Luck Reunion and toured with The Avett Brothers, The Head and the Heart, The Revivalists, Grace Potter, Sierra Ferrell and more.
Stay tuned for more of what promises to be a breakthrough year from Jaime Wyatt.
