21-year-old guitar-pop auteur Jordana Nye, aka Jordana, spends her self-co-produced second album (and studio debut) “Face the Wall” pushing herself to be a better person—”Trying to be what I’m longing to be,” as she sings on “To the Ground.” This requires her to reckon with everything from songwriter’s block (“Like You Used To”) and pot smoke-clouded anxiety attacks (“Pressure Point”) to romantic dysfunction (“Play Fair,” “Catch My Drift”) and her struggles with letting others’ perceptions define her (“I Mean That,” “Get Up”).
Nye is resolute in unpacking these internal conflicts (“Scary truth to acknowledge / But I’ll do it anyway,” she croons on closer “Why”), and she does so over pristine, nimble pop that mines early-2000s nostalgia for meaning (as opposed to a calculated trend-grab): “Face the Wall” is as much about Nye yearning for simpler times as it is her acknowledging her trying present and uncertain future, which is just another facet of her honesty. The record may be a lyrical document of what’s weighing Nye down, but its instrumentation—all of which Nye performed herself—is there to uplift her, as well as the listener, at every turn.
Jordana’s mission is simple: keep trying to be her, even when it’s hard. So it’s no surprise perseverance and self-discovery are central themes on the upcoming record “Face The Wall”, out May 20th on Grand Jury.
The Fat Angel Sings 