I stumbled upon Jeremy Messersmith this past week, and his lighthearted indie pop sound is right up my musical alley. In addition to the sound, I’m a huge fan of the album as a whole. So far I’ve just been listening to one album, Heart Murmurs, on repeat. Am I crazy, or it is incredibly unique?
Most albums about love track one person’s love story, usually the singer him/herself. But Heart Murmurs is a short story anthology in musical form, and unless I’m just loopy on obsessiveness, I can’t think of any other album like that. Messersmith uses his sweet, sweet voice to tell wildly different stories: a guy wrestling with unrequited love all the way until her wedding day, a guy offering to be his best friend’s rebound after a girl breaks his heart, and a married man playing out an “If You Like Pina Coladas” schtick as he propositions his wife with a one-night stand. The only way he could be more diverse is if he sang from a woman’s point of view.
Usually I’m a fan of long narratives. I prefer serial shows like LOST to procedural shows like Law and Order. Give me a massive novel over an anthology anyday, and heaven knows I don’t want Taylor Swift to take back 1989. But somehow, Jeremy Messersmith is converting me! I’m super into his chameleon songwriting, and I can’t wait to be over Heart Murmurs long enough to dive into his death-themed pop album The Reluctant Graveyard.
Favorite songs: “Bridges,” “Steve,” “I Want to be Your One Night Stand.”
It Is Trish 