Faith Healer
Try ;-) (Mint)

When Faith Healer’s 2015 debut album, Cosmic Troubles, was recorded, it was basically a solo project by Jessica Jalbert. She chose the pseudonym in an attempt to avoid the quaint singer-songwriter label that she was saddled with for her previous album, which was put out under her own name. That concern is a thing of the past with Try ;-).

Everything about Try ;-) is bigger. While producer, performer, and fellow Mint artist Renny Wilson heavily contributed to Cosmic Troubles, he became an official bandmate on this one, and he owns it. The production sounds far more distinguished on Try ;-); there’s far less aping of ’60s studio tropes and way more of a dedicated ’70s psych-pop polish, with more synths and a wider stereo feel to the downtempo balladry and surreal indie rock.

Throughout the record, Jalbert’s voice sounds dreamier, drawing out emotional nuance and resonance more than simply labelling it. In effect, although their tremendous effort is apparent, it sounds like they’re trying less hard to be eclectic and being more themselves.