Reviews

Album Review: Oxlip – I Said You Must Be Leaving

Northern Irish, Vancouver, Canada-based singer songwriter Oxlip, real name Jayne Trimble, first came to my attention thanks to her 2021 EP release A Kind Of Premonition. Since then she’s been working on her sixth studio album with the help of producer Damien Jurado. It’s called I Said You Must Be Leaving.

By Graeme Smith

Feature photo by Carol Gandra

Jayne and Damien recorded the album over four days in January this year, hunkered down in the Sonikwire Studios in Los Angeles, USA, before releasing it on Oxlip’s own label World Peach Records. It’s perhaps the combination of the intensive recording process and the complete creative control that makes the album feel so cohesive. From its opening title track to its lingering finale Bones In Clay, it’s an album in which you can immerse yourself.

Last year’s A Kind Of Premonition impressed me with its emotional storytelling and stripped-back rawness. That’s also certainly true of I Said You Must Be Leaving, but Jayne has also expanded her sound. There’s a rich, etherealness that runs through it, tempered by earthly percussion and made human by Jayne’s hypnotic vocals.

The melancholic lament Wayward Woman leads into the marching Gallows Hill, Maggie H. is a textured track that draws on folk traditions, classic song writing and modern elements. It’s a definite highlight.

Salt slowly stews for five and a half minutes, forever being stirred by a compelling piano melody and experimental electronic moments. The Miner sticks with the piano but feels altogether lighter – Jayne’s vocals are especially beautiful here as she sings about love in its purest form. 12 Blind Boys provides a lively, late lick, visceral in both its delivery and its image-rich lyrical content.

Earlier this year, Oxlip was nominated as an Emerging Artist of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards and it’s easy to see why when she’s creating music like this. I Said You Must Be Leaving is a great continuation of the career of a thoughtful, lovable artist who deserves all the plaudits she gets. You can check out the whole album below.