Today, Jaime Wyatt releases a genre-defying work of healing and self-love, produced by Black Pumas’ Adrian Quesada, her new album Feel Good via New West.
Hailed by Pitchfork as one of the “most exciting and skillful storytellers” working today, Wyatt is the kind of generational talent whose raw, honest lyricism is matched only by the power of her huge, unmistakable voice. Today, her third and most ambitious album yet – Feel Good, cements this notion, pushing her sound to new sonic and emotional heights, while blurring the lines between classic roots, southern soul, and vintage R&B.
Also out today is the desert-immersed video for album title track, ‘Feel Good’ shot in Sante Fe, New Mexico whilst Wyatt was on tour.
(Dir. Taylor McFadden & Lavinia Wright)
The lead single featuring towering gospel vocals, ‘Feel Good’ is one of Wyatt’s favourite songs she’s ever written. She thought she had to assimilate, she thought she had to be straight, but she never did. At its core the song is about building a relationship with herself, and making space for herself to feel good.
Additional praise for Jaime Wyatt has come from Pitchfork, NME, Fader, and NPR who love her “remarkable voice” as well as Rolling Stone who’ve applauded her “lush, layered, and complex” performances. Already a number of cathartic songs have been unveiled from Feel Good including the country beckoning ‘Back to the Country’, her soul-filled reimagining of the Grateful Dead’s ‘Althea’, the defiant queer anthem ‘Love Is A Place’ and lead single ‘World Worth Keeping’ which have received praise from Billboard, Spin, No Depression, American Songwriter, GLAAD and more.
Next week, on Tuesday, November 7th, Wyatt will make her Grand Ole Opry debut. More information can be found here.
Recorded with Black Pumas’ Adrian Quesada, Feel Good is bold and ecstatic, built on tight, intoxicating grooves that belie the songs’ substantial emotional stakes, showcasing Wyatt’s unparalleled artistry and musical prowess. Wyatt’s writing is unguarded and intuitive here, tapping into the deep recesses of her subconscious as she reckons with grief and growth, and her delivery is visceral to match, cutting straight to the bone with equal parts sensitivity and swagger. ‘Where The Damned Only Go’, for example, is perhaps Wyatt’s opus. The song was written for the missing indigenous women and people of color whose cases go uninvestigated by law enforcement. “It took me at least a year to finish,” says Wyatt. “It was a labor of love and I knew I needed to finish it but it had to be right. It moves in between keys in a way that I’m very proud of. Lyrically, it is very abstract, as it was written as a tribute to the forgotten people of society,” she continues.
Taken as a whole, Feel Good stands as a radical act of creative liberation from an artist already known for pushing limits, a genre-defying work of healing, queer joy and self-love that tips its cap to everything from Al Green and Otis Redding to Waylon Jennings and Bobbie Gentry in its relentless pursuit of peace and pleasure.
A West Coast native, Wyatt first began turning heads with her breakout 2017 debut, Felony Blues, which chronicled her now much-publicized battle with addiction and transformative journey through the criminal justice system. Her 2020 follow-up and New West debut, Neon Cross, tackled even more profoundly personal revelations and arrived to tremendous acclaim with NPR praising Wyatt’s “remarkable voice” and Rolling Stone lauding her “lush, layered, and complex” performances.
Next year, Wyatt will kick off a US headlining tour following consistent tours this past year behind ZZ Ward, The Head And The Heart, The Revivalists, Sierra Ferrell, Grace Potter, the Avett Brothers, her debut at Stagecoach, Newport Folk and Austin City Limits festival. Wyatt will play at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in NYC, The Troubadour in Los Angeles, Lincoln Hall in Chicago and more. See the full list of tour dates below and here: https://www.jaimewyatt.com/tour.
Feel Good Tracklist:
1. World Worth Keeping
2. Feel Good
3. Back To The Country
4. Love Is A Place
5. Hold Me One Last Time
6. Where The Damned Only Go
7. Althea
8. Fugitive
9. Jukebox Holiday
10. Ain’t Enough Whiskey
11. Moonlighter
