Jessica Bailiff

For almost the same reasons, the marriage of the flatland doldrums of Ohio to the crystalline snowglobe of Jessica Bailiffs lonesome, swirling dronescapes is befitting. Either as a form of escapism- Ohio isnt exactly a flourishing tourist haven- or a charming and mystifying ode to the states static terrain and buzzing interstate traffic, the Ohio natives music is the stuff of daydreams and distance.

Truthfully, her often turbulent, wintry dirges evoke a homefront closer to the wind-chapped, snowcapped landscape of blustery northern Minnesota, where she recorded most of her debut and all of her second full-length album with close friend and mentor, Alan Sparhawk, of Low. Sparhawks 20º Below studio was Bailiffs home for portions of January 1998 and February 1999, when she recorded the bulk of the material found Even in Silence and Hour of the Trace, respectively.

Having had a number of potential bands flameout before they even left the ground, Bailiff decided she would rather write music as a soloist and gather players together when she would tour or play local shows. All three members of Low- Sparhawk, his wife Mimi Parker, and bassist Zak Sally- have contributed to Bailiffs albums, adding sparse vocals, drums, and other instrumentation to her minimalistic songs.

“ Alan had some good opinions and advice to offer throughout- and I took advantage of that,” Bailiff said of Sparhawk, who also lent his musical abilities to her songs. “He helped a bit in the writing of “Trust” (with the structure) and added a guitar part to my main part. Mimi wrote and played the drum part (which really shouldve been mixed louder!), Zak wrote and played the bass part, and I wrote the lyrics and main guitar. It wouldnt have been the album it was without Alan. Im glad he helped me out.”

According to Bailiff, tt was Sparhawk who, having heard nearly all of the material she had written in the two years previous to her debuts release, encouraged her to send a demo to Kranky, Lows label, to see if they would release it.