When’s the last time a song made you want to snap your fingers? I’m guessing it’s been awhile. Few artists today create finger-snapping-good music – but that’s where Jesse Harris comes in. His music is fun, tender, and real – all juxtaposed against light cadences and sweet chords.
Jesse Harris is a small guy with thick-rimmed glasses and a guitar. Although the look has been done a trillion times before, his music is surprisingly fresh. It has a Weezer sound, especially since Harris’ voice is high pitched and on the verge of whiny, but with a more acoustic, organic flair, like The Shins. The message is straightforward, and you don’t need to be an English major to understand the symbology of his lyrics. He’s straight-to-the-point expressive – which most artists try to avoid and I’m not sure why. People like lyrics that describe life’s many moments. But a lot of artists veer toward complex poetry which can be lost on the average listener.
Harris’ voice is very melodic. His range is limited since his voice is so high, but his chords are extremely diverse. The plucking and strumming has a very country sound, even when you add his spontaneous accordion addition. The feel of the music is alternative, but as the songs progressed, I began to pick up on a soulful undertone. Soul in the sense that you start closing your eyes, snapping your fingers, bobbing your head, and completely allow the music to take you away. This was a very surprising event situation for me since nothing about Jesse Harris says soul. But he has it. No doubt about that.
I got lost in his music. Each and every song is a little journey through the imagination. The messages are general and big enough to represent a part of everyone, permitting the creative, symphonic harmonies to carry you away to your own secret place. I like Harris, and I really appreciated that fact that he could create good, quality music, without all the pretentiousness. I recommend a Harris show for anyone who wants to kick back and enjoy high quality music among a casual atmosphere.