Album Notes

“Americana” does not do adequate justice to the musical or lyrical feel of this album, but it's a good start. Solo acoustic guitar work starkly highlights wide-ranging subject matter from the self-inflicted trials and tribulations of middle-American pseudo-poverty (Feed the River), to war and economics (On a War), to the anguish of missed opportunities (Pounding in My Brain), to the old-timey story of tragic loss due to natural disaster (Willamsburg Flood). Never your typical singer-songwriter with a guitar, Jesse's 9th full-length album is intimate, achingly personal, yet avoids the angsty melodrama of stories you've heard a thousand times. The melodies and guitar work is far from typical or traditional, with intense rhythms, haunting and sparse flatpicking, and inspired vocal lines. You will want to learn all these songs by heart, sing along, and recommend them to your friends.

Most songwriters write pretty good lyrics and have pretty pedestrian music. Most really good guitarists play too many notes. And a lot of really interesting music is accompanied by trite, silly words. Why is that?

Jesse Sterling Harrison, a singer and songwriter based in Western Massachusetts, has been playing out for almost 15 years, is comfortable, charming and witty on-stage, and demands attention. He is that ultra-rare performer who can really play the guitar, sing a top-shelf lead vocal, and write deep lyrics that get better the more you think about them. Drawing on a huge range of influences, Jesse utilizes a deftly-flatpicked Gibson acoustic, a lyric sheet that's spare, literary and unpretentious, and a versatile voice that draws comparison to heavies like Jeff Buckley and Radiohead's Thom Yorke.

Jesse writes story-songs with a powerful rhythmic pulse and big splashes of melody. He can sing all soft and personal and then switch to a bluesy roar, a poetry-slam spoken-word rap, or an intense wail. The overall effect is moody, surprising and instantly recognizable. His music can easily coexist in an mp3 shuffle with other brilliant writer-performers like Neil Young, Will Oldham, Richard Thompson, Josh Ritter, and Beck...in other words, artists who manage to create something timeless.

Jesse released some of his best work, the CD What it Sounds Like, in 2006. He is currently beginning a new full-band CD with the working title Lord Send More Trouble and booking solo acoustic performances in New York and New England. When not writing, recording and playing live, Jesse runs a small business and spends time with his two young daughters.