Hillary Susz can do it all. Not only is she a songwriter and guitarist, but she is also a poetry and creative writing professor. These talents lend to her songwriting – of this, we are sure – as we unfold the intricate details of her new album The Heart Will Jump (With Nowhere to Fall), noting that she utilizes her entire vocabulary and delivers her work with such grace, we may have gone unconscious for a while. But the lyrics were also written based on her six year relationship, which makes this release a more intimate experience than most.
“Pollution” comes in, utilizing Susz’s deeper, heavier vocals as she tackles the vivid descriptions of what pollution is doing to our earth. What a great way to take a stand with the first track of the entire album. “Train Song” is simply a compilation of the layered sound effects of a train crossing and of water moving against a shoreline. While we have already noted how we feel about “Dead Stars“, “Sad Girls” is a track composed of largely light hearted instrumentals but you want to listen to the lyrics to really get the full breadth of what she’s done with the song.
While “The Letter Pt. 1” and “The Letter Pt. 2” don’t hold the same sound to them necessarily, they are best heard one after the other in the same listen to be able to juxtapose the two. “Swanky Freak” holds the award for our favorite song title, and she describes a man to the T that would, after all, be an obvious “swanky freak”. And then she takes another break with “Train Song”, the sound of the train passing in its entirety this time instead of focusing on the sounds of natural running water. The title track comes in the 9th slot of the album, brought in with a sinister sounding pairing of guitar and percussion.
“Make Me Make You” is slower, void of the energy in its predecessor. It’s a simple track, allowing her to play with dissonance a bit. It’s our favorite, as it proudly displays the ambience her vocals are capable of emitting. The album rounds out with “Stranger”, which is delivered with such warmth that we can only imagine a stranger would regard this as familiar.
The Heart Will Jump (With Nowhere to Fall) is out soon. Keep up with Hillary here.
