Singer-Songwriter Jake Etheridge Releases Intimate and Soulful New EP “Because I'm High.”
By Keir Nicoll
Listening to the new single, “I Should Know” for Jake Etheridge's soon-to-be-released EP “Because I'm High,” gives you the sense that he is singing from a deep-dark-hole, where he is peering out at the world, from his neurotic sensibilities – of not being able to stand a party that he's at, of not knowing who he is in any given moment. He claims to have fucked-up, so you know there's some social-cue, or nicety, that he missed here, in the human exchanges that other's may have forgotten but that he is still obsessing over. “I should have called...It's all my fault.” His voice is powerful, his strumming is easy and accompanying guitar and organ-lines are sparse and subtly melodic – building on the classic black-country stylings of his Nashville residence.
Etheridge is already a well-known star, in Nashville music, for his solo work and for being a part of the Common Linnets. These credentials have afforded him high-ranking status and #1 spots in countries around the world. He also starred in and songwrote for CMT's hit TV show, “Nashville.” He is married to Canadian country star Mackenzie Porter (originally from Medicine Hat, AB). His new EP should send him further into the stratosphere of country traditions, like Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash – in the darker vein of the tradition. He lived in a painter's former studio and the creaks of the floor-wood enter into the sonic interpretation of the music.
In the songs of the album, as for example, “Rock n' Roll,” he sings plaintively and soulfully, “fuck me up like rock n roll.” This song is roughly rock in its orientation – moreso than it is a tried-and-true country tune – so the listener benefits from his interpretation of an edgier interpretation of the idiom. His words bear a double or triple meaning, sometimes, as the expected connotation of what he is saying, is not as it obviously implies. In the title track, he sings, “Maybe all I'll ever need is you opening up the door.” He continues, “I don't know if it's because I'm high but I can't shake the feeling I've done nothing right.” So, the perceived intoxication of the title, turns out to be, instead, a declining feeling of failure, or uncertainty.
As the album continues, Etheridge's form of following with a 'head' fixation, continues, as he seems to be all-stuck-up-in-it. As fellow neurotics would understand, this is always a breeding-ground for problems. Same with “My Head,” where he sings about hating the traffic, which is always so bad. “My stereo's busted and my thought's are fuckin' loud.” He's trying not to think about who he's with. He doesn't know (as Lou Reed said). Continuing with “Nothing's Fine,” where he sings about “stayin' home and gettin' high,” and then sings about getting it off his chest and out of his mind, as it's “all for the best but nothin's fine.” There always seems to be something somewhat beautifully dismal about his world-view, or perspective. He offers us insight into a somewhat distraught mind.
In “Forget My Name,” Etheridge seems nameless, despite his fame and credentials. Amazing that he can conjure this kind of mystery, as he seems to arise from the deep-south-country ethos, where names mean so much. He even forgets his own name, in the song. Breaking' promises and leaving' – some of these themes are pretty classic, though. The band swells in this song and as in his previous numbers, the sound surges from a low-key, to a fuller-bodied, rocked-out sound. It's a beautiful finger-style guitar in the background that summons, or invokes, the Americana-Country that he hails from. Again, textural and minimal instruments are used sparsely, to great effect.
This entire album is redolent with the sound of a darkness on the edge of town – Nashville's head-roving, housebound songwriter. He sings about “moments and memories,” “feelings and facts.” He is a self-professed “Sad-Boy,” and these various identifications are professed, profoundly, in his music. He searches these for his authentic voice and sense of self, as he expresses simple moments, from his own life, something Lou Reed, also did. The dashing Etheridge seems a country-version of Jeff Buckley, in some ways. This is a strong six-song release and follow-up to 2018's “Only Everything.” “Because I'm High” is now available on all platforms.
Listen to “Because I’m High” here